The Smilow Cancer Hospital officially opened this afternoon in a ceremony held in the shadow of the $467 million, 14-story new building.

In addition to University President Richard Levin and other Yale officials, Yale-New Haven Hospital CEO Marna Borgstrom, New Haven Mayor John DeStefano Jr. and Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell also spoke at the ceremony, which featured a ribbon-cutting and a performance by the Trinity Boys Choir.

“This is the culmination of an idea we shared many years ago, an idea to provide exceptional care and exceptional caring to patients,” Borgstrom said. “This hospital was designed to honor, respect and support their courageous fight.”

DeStefano and Rell emphasized the benefits the hospital would have for the city.

“You might say, I see a 14-story building,” she told the audience. “I see an economic engine for the city and state.”