645 Commonwealth Ave
Last fall, President Robert A. Brown announced the plan to construct a dramatic 17-floor tower building on Commonwealth Ave to house the new Center for Computing & Data Sciences . The building will be constructed on the existing parking lot at the corner of Commonwealth Ave and Granby St. This building will be a state-of-the-art facility using sustainable technologies, including geothermal to heat and cool the building. This initiative is the largest geothermal energy project ever attempted in the City of Boston and is critical the University’s efforts to meet its aggressive Climate Action goals.
Last spring contractors drilled three geothermal test wells in the parking lot and alleyway. The test results were used to determine the feasibility of using geothermal as an energy source for heating and cooling the new Center for Computing & Data Sciences and other buildings in the area. Based on the results of these test wells a plan and approach was initiated to drill 27 more wells. This next phase began in July 2019 with each well being drilled to a depth of 1500’ before installing high-performance geo exchange piping, measuring the verticality, and circulating fluid was circulated through the piping to measure the thermal conductivity. The project is expected to last into December 2019.
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Compass Project Management- Owner’s Project Manager
Chris Kenney – Senior Project Manager- cell: (617) 671-8669
Project Team
Project Management: Walt Meissner (Operations), David Flynn (Campus Planning & Operations)Owner’s Project Manager: Compass Project Management: Tim Bonfatti, Brian Kelley, Chris Kenney
Architect: KPMB
Construction Manager: Suffolk Construction Co.: Frank Craemer, David McCauley