Signing their names on a steel beam, local elected officials this week took part in a “topping out” ceremony at Smith Crossing’s addition to its Orland Park campus.

The $24 million expansion, which is expected to be finished early next year, is intended to expand Smith Crossing’s capacity for handling patients needing short-term rehabilitation services.

The 32-acre continuing care retirement community, 10501 Emilie Lane, has more than 300 residents and offers independent living apartments and villas, assisted living apartments, memory care residences and skilled nursing care rooms.

It now has 46 beds in its skilled nursing care area, with 30 of those designated for long-term rehabilitation care and 16 for short-term stays.

During a recent 18-month period, space constraints meant that Smith Crossing could admit just 170 of the nearly 2,500 patients seeking short-term rehab services, according to Smith Senior Living.

The new space will have 46 private suites for adults needing short-term rehabilitation following surgery, along with private treatment and therapy rooms, a rehab gym and dining room, according to Smith Senior Living.

For the topping out, Smith Senior Living gathered elected officials who had taken part in the original groundbreaking ceremony for the 45,000-square-foot wing in October.

Area legislators, Orland Park elected officials and representatives with Smith Senior Living, which operates Smith Crossing, took part in the event, marking the on-time progress of construction despite a harsh winter and particularly wet spring.

Unlike a typical topping out, where a steel beam is signed then hoisted into place, officials, wearing hard hats and safety vests, were hoisted into the air on a scissor lift to affix their signatures to the support beam at the entrance to the wing.

Kevin McGee, Smith Senior Living’s president and chief executive, said Smith Crossing expects continued strong demand for rehabilitation programs.

“Because Will County is one of the 100 fastest-growing counties in the country and its population is aging, Smith Crossing is anticipating an ever-increasing demand for rehab programs,” he said.

The two-story addition is connected with a passageway to the west side of the main building of the campus, north of Orland Parkway.

With the new wing, the main building will contain nearly 506,000 square feet of residences and common areas, according to Smith Senior Living.

Including the construction of the rehab wing, the nonprofit said it will have invested $119 million in building the Orland Park campus.

Smith Senior Living also operates Smith Village on Chicago’s Southwest Side, which also has about 300 residents.