HOLYOKE — Driving down Interstate 91, said U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, “you see the phoenix rising from the ashes,” referring to a long-awaited new home for area veterans that’s been under construction for the last 451 days.

Neal admired the progress being made on the $482.6 million Veterans Home in Holyoke project at a special “topping off” ceremony on Thursday that drew dozens of other politicians, including Gov. Maura Healey, and other dignitaries.

After admiring the facility, the officials watched as the structure’s final steel beam was hoisted by a crane some 130 feet in the air and ceremoniously fixed onto the framework of the building’s facade, which Neal said “notes most of the achievement is underway, but there is still work to be done.”

In advance of Veterans Day weekend, speakers who gathered at the site agreed the project is one to honor those who have served, and that not only is the topping off a historic milestone but it also represents the future of veterans care in Massachusetts.

The facility is expected to be completed in 2026 and will welcome veterans in 2027.

Holyoke Mayor Joshua Garcia said the structure represents a pledge that “we will not leave you when you leave the service. You have done your part, and now, we’re going to do ours.”

State Secretary of Veterans Services Jon Santiago, the first to hold the position after the state created an Executive Office of Veterans Services in March 2023, said the project comes during a “new era” of services for veterans in the state.

“I can promise you, we’re investing more in veterans than we ever have before,” he said.

Healey thanked veterans, specifically current residents present for the ceremony, for being a “model” for the young, and said that their testimonies and stories are what inspire the next generation of service in the country.

Others in attendance included state Sens. John Velis, Jacob Oliveira and Adam Gomez, and state Reps. Lindsay Sabadosa, Mindy Domb, Dan Carey, Aaron Saunders, Natalie Blais, Patricia Duffy and others, along with representatives from the state’s Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance, staff of the Veterans Home and dozens of workers involved in the project.

In advance of the ceremony, the beam, which is traditionally white for topping off ceremonies but had been painted instead in the form of the American flag, was signed by staff members, veterans, legislators and construction workers in attendance, as a testament to what speakers repeatedly stressed has been a group effort.

Healey also acknowledged the “sky cowboys” and construction workers working on the structure — the design of which gained extensive praise.

Santiago said “you can see it from Boston,” and described the building as “imposing.” Velis commented that its enormity pays tribute to the “blood, sweat and tears” of service members, and noted its prominence, especially at night. Healey said “it is incredible the progress that has been made” since the last time she had been at the site.

Both Neal and Healey celebrated that the project is being completed under a project labor agreement, “which means a safer workplace for you guys,” said Healey to the workers present.

Jeremy Long of Prime Steel Erecting Inc., who was employed for the project, said it has been under budget, on time and no workers have been hurt — which he called a “trifecta.”

Healey also acknowledged and thanked Neal for his “huge assist” by securing $263.5 million in federal Veterans Administration money for the project, with remaining funding coming from a state bond bill.

The new 350,000-square-foot facility at 110 Cherry St. dwarfs the current 120,000-square-foot building, which was built in 1949.

The new facility incorporates the VA’s small house design model, which focuses on offering a kitchen seconding as communal space for 12 people who fill up an individual unit, or “house.”

In all, there will be 234 beds for long-term care, each equipped with nursing support. The design facilitates three “houses” per floor in the nine-story building, which will also contain a chapel, be adorned with outdoor gardens, and feature an outdoor pavilion to host physical therapy and outdoor events.

The Veterans Home at Holyoke currently operates out of what had been referred to as the Soldiers’ Home, with the new structure erected alongside the old one on the same 16.6-acre lot.

The new structure will replace the facility where 76 veterans died in 2020 during the pandemic.

Neal stated that what happened “cannot be swept under the rug,” and the new design even incorporates a memorial for those who lost their lives.

“This facility made national headlines for the wrong reasons,” he said, after stating the wonderful work he has seen done at the Veterans’ Home, not only for his uncle, but for all those who have told him about the quality care their loved ones have had at the facility.

“Today it’s going to make national headlines because of all of you, for all the right reasons,” Neal added, celebrating the work of legislators, local officials and construction workers involved with the project.

The facility’s former superintendent, Bennett Walsh, and former Medical Director Dr. David Clinton were indicted on criminal negligence stemming from the veterans’ deaths, and were both sentenced to three months’ probation in Hampshire County Superior Court, after it was found that vital programs had been slashed due to low staffing.

A similar outbreak came out of the Veterans Home at Chelsea, where the death of 31 veterans spurred lawsuits by family members against the Chelsea facility. That home has been replaced by a $200 million facility, 65% of which was supported by federal funds.

Reform of both facilities was spurred in 2022, when a law was signed mandating both veterans homes, in Holyoke and Chelsea, receive licensing through the Department of Public Health. Since then, the department has provided clinical oversight of the facilities.