Haley & Aldrich

$286M Building Permit Pulled for BU Data Science Center As reported earlier this week on BLDUP construction activity is back underway for the BU Data Sciences Center and now Suffolk Construction has pulled the building permit for the project. The permit is valued at $285,993,935.00. Due to open in 2022, the center will be state of the art in every way: striking architecture, advanced resources, environmental sensitivity, and interior spaces designed to facilitate collaboration. The 19-story structure will house BU's mathematics, statistics, and computer science programs, as well as the renowned Rafik B. Hariri Institute for Computing and Computational Science & Engineering. 

BU Begins Early Stage Excavation on Site of Future Data Sciences Center Boston University has begun excavation work along Commonwealth Avenue the future home of the Data Science Center. Additionally, stockpiles have been created on-site and the parking lot is beginning to be disassembled. The upcoming 350,000-square-foot tower will be Boston's biggest sustainable building, and BU’s most energy-efficient. The Center will bring the University’s mathematics, statistics, and computer science departments under one roof to further interdisciplinary research in the booming field of data sciences.

Change of Ownership & Adjusted Plans Approved for 175 Orleans The BPDA has approved the change of ownership of 175 Orleans Street along with slightly adjust plans for the project. Current owners, Hudson Realty 62 purchased the property in January 2017 for $14.75M. The adjusted plans for the historic industrial building which will decrease the number of hotel rooms from 127 to 123, eliminate a 6th-floor addition and reconfigure the ground floor restaurant/amenity space. 

Permits Pulled for Telecom & Security Install at The Beat Permits have been pulled for the install of 99 telecom drops along with 30 security devices at The Beat in Dorchester. The Beat will include 360,000 square feet of office space and 300,000 square feet of flex/light industrial space, along with retail including a 10,000-square-foot fitness center, a 100-seat restaurant and a micro craft brewery with a food component, including an outdoor beer garden. 

Framing Underway for BLVD at Revere Beach Wood framing is now underway for BLVD at Revere Beach. The project will feature 145 modern apartments along with 2,500 square feet of retail space on the first floor for Bianchi’s and a coffee shop, which formerly stood on the site. Units are set to range in size from studios through 2 beds and the building will also offer numerous amenities including a saltwater pool, sky lounge, and state-of-the-art fitness center.

Höweler + Yoon & Sasaki Announce Groundbreaking for 212 Stuart Street Höweler + Yoon and Sasaki today announced the groundbreaking for the 212 Stuart Street residential tower located in the historic Bay Village neighborhood in downtown Boston. The project was carried through the permitting process by Boston-based Transom Real Estate and is currently being developed by Greystar Real Estate Partners. The project received approval from the BPDA in summer 2017 and by the Boston Landmarks Commission in late 2018. The building will be developed on a 7,714 square-foot parcel located within Boston's “High-Spine”.  Sasaki served as the Project Architect in collaboration with Höweler + Yoon as the Design Architect. The project will include the construction of a 150,000 square-foot 19-story building containing 126 units with two townhouses and retail space on the ground level.  “The design of 212 Stuart Street is rooted in the idea that the tall building operates at multiple scales in the city,” says Eric Höweler, Principal of Höweler + Yoon. “When viewed from a distance, the building meets the sky with a distinctive silhouette and participates in the composition of the city's skyline. When experienced from the sidewalk, the building meets the ground and activates the streetscape in its immediate context.”  The site of 212 Stuart Street is currently a vacant parking lot between the Bay Village Neighborhood, and the Stuart Street corridor. “Context, here, is everything,” says Sasaki principal Victor Vizgaitis, AIA. “The entire genesis of the project came from looking for a way to moderate between two markedly different areas of the city.” The narrow building presents two distinct faces that each acknowledge the surrounding neighborhoods: the low rise residential neighborhood to the south, and the mixed fabric of the "High Spine" corridor to the north.  The building massing is broken up into a ‘coursed block,’ organized into discrete blocks of 3, 4, 5, and 6 story packages. The exterior is articulated to emphasize the vertical grain of the building with irregularly spaced opaque panels, alternating with recessed glass infill panels. The vertical panels consist of custom, multi-story precast panels with a concave, scalloped geometry.  “Considering the explicit historical concern in the neighborhood, we studied fluted geometries as a way to express depth and texture on the facade. Fluted columns themselves were constructed by stacking individual sections around a central core,” says Höweler. “This part-to-whole relationship satisfies the drive to maintain historical character, and yet the results are surprisingly contemporary.”  The heavy relief texture of the facade will create a unique optical effect, as well as some self- shading on the eastern and western exposures. Glazing for the residential units takes the form of a multi-story, recessed window wall with spandrel glass between the precast panels.  The penthouse floor is a single-loaded organization with an outdoor amenity deck to the south. The ground floor contains the lobby and retail spaces with storefront glazing facing the northern, more commercial side of Stuart Street. The southern portion of the ground floor consists of two walk-up townhouses accessible directly from Shawmut Street. These ‘new neighbors’ respond directly to the existing townhomes across the street and maintain an active residential frontage.  “Townhouses change the character of a tall residential building,” says Vizgaitis. “Particularly when they are well-detailed at their public face and set into a landscape that meshes with the city fabric, the building transforms from anonymous and controlled to something that feels personal and part of the neighborhood.” Renderings courtesy of Luxigon

Steel Framing Ongoing for 321 Harrison Ave Steel framing is ongoing for the 8-story addition being added to the parking garage at 321 Harrison Ave. The new building will feature 232,500 square feet of Class A office space along with numerous tenant amenities including a fitness center, roof terrace, and 4,000 square foot "living room". The existing lobby that connects the garage with neighboring 1000 Washington St. will also be reconfigured and renovated to serve both buildings. 

Newton Residents Vote YES on Northland's 22+ Acre Development Newton residents voted in favor of the Northland Newton project Tuesday night, with 58% of voters supporting the mixed-use development. As approved by the city council in December 2019, the project will include  800 housing units (140 of which will be affordable), 180,000 square feet of office space and 115,000 square feet of commercial space. Plans also call for 10 acres of open space including 8 new parks plus a mobility hub that will offer free electric shuttle service to the Newton Highlands MBTA Station. 

$4M Plumbing Permit Pulled for Canopy Hotel by Hilton Cannistraro has pulled a permit valued at $4M for the plumbing work at the upcoming Canopy Hotel by Hilton. The 7-story hotel will include 212 rooms along with 9,600 square feet of retail. Hotel guest amenities will include a fitness center and meeting space and 1,800 square foot roof deck. 

Framing & Core Work Underway at Winthrop Center A massive core is under construction plus steel framing has started for Winthrop Center in the heart of Downtown Boston. The upcoming 53-story will feature 387 condominium residences, along with approximately 772,422 square feet of commercial office space designed to Passive House standards. Connecting the through-block site will be The Connector, a distinctive gathering place full of restaurants and vendors, and a continually changing program of performance activity and public events.

Interior Finishing Ongoing at The Archer Residences in Beacon Hill Construction at the luxury Archer Residences in Beacon Hill continues with interior finishes going in and the exterior work nearly complete. The development will include 62 residences, a fitness center, a children's room, and other high-end amenities. 

Interior Finishing Nearly Complete for First Units at The Overlook at St. Gabriel's Interior finish work is nearly complete for the first units at The Overlook at St. Gabriel's in Brighton. The 11+ acre site offers luxury apartments ranging from studios through four-bedrooms between new construction buildings and, meticulously restored and reimagined historic buildings.  First apartments are now expected to open in April and when complete the hilltop community will feature 555 residential apartments and 105 condos.  The development also offers more than 22,000 square feet of community spaces including a pool, fitness center, and sky lounge.