Update on Summer Construction Projects

Al Hartshorn, Shawmut Design and Construction senior project superintendent, on what will be Myles Standish Hall’s new roof.

Brian Kelley had a tough job ahead of him this past summer. A senior project manager with Compass Project Management, Kelley is responsible for transforming a once-glamorous 1920s Boston hotel into a modern residence hall.

He is overseeing the two-year gutting of BU’s oldest dorm, Myles Standish Hall, and the Annex. The building had undergone only minor cosmetic work since the University purchased it in 1949. Facilities Management & Planning (FM&P) conducted full interior and exterior surveys in summer 2015 to determine the scope of the renovation. Phase one, launched in June by Shawmut Design and Construction, involves the west half of the building. When the project is complete in 2018 (east wing and Annex renovations will follow), 730 students will occupy the new digs, up from the previous 660.

During a tour of the construction site on a brutally hot summer day, Kelley pointed up to the building’s brickwork, some of it being chiseled away. “We don’t want the brick job to be obvious,” he said, “so we are very careful to choose the right type and color of brick and mortar and to get the pattern to mix.” He said that in total, 80 percent of the exterior will be coming down, and the residence will get new windows and a new roof, as well as new stonework along the ninth floor.

Inside, the building’s beautiful dark-paneled, chandeliered lobby had been transformed into a construction zone, with more than 100 workers reporting daily. They were fixing leaks and installing air-conditioning and three additional elevators. In the basement, crews had unearthed old magazines and bottles near what used to be the hotel’s incinerator and an ancient racquetball court that will be filled in.

A major component of the LEED-registered project is creating suites with more privacy for residents; in the old dorm, students would sometimes have to pass through suitemates’ bedrooms to get to the bathroom. Up on the sixth floor, Kelley pointed to Bobcat bulldozers that had ripped down walls in preparation for the new floor layout.

“There’s a lot of history in the building, and it’s not in the shape of a square or a rectangle, so it has unique challenges,” Kelley said. “We want it to look great for the next 50 years.”

In addition to Myles, the other work this summer included:

Charles River Campus

Gym Floor Replacement
915 Commonwealth Avenue

The floor in the three-court gym at FitRec was replaced in August.

BU Theatre Center
820-846 Commonwealth Avenue

The College of Fine Arts Theatre Arts program will be returning to Commonwealth Avenue after 34 years at the BU Theatre on Huntington Avenue. Work began this summer on a modern steel and glass building in the midst of the Charles River Campus. The project includes construction of a 250-seat flexible studio theater as well as 75,000 square feet of space for scenery, props, and costume shops. The new CFA structure will also house faculty offices and teaching spaces, among them a lighting lab and design studios.

The LEED-registered building will be flanked by greenery and tiered benches. Also part of the project is a two-level subsurface parking garage and a smaller surface parking lot. Installation of fully landscaped buffer areas fronting Brookline’s Cottage Farm Historic District along Essex and Drummer streets are planned as well.

Graduate Graphic Design Space
808 Commonwealth Avenue

Because of increasing enrollment, a new permanent home was constructed this summer for the CFA Graphic Design MFA program. The fourth floor facility now features two large open studios, offices for faculty and technicians, a seminar room, and two large classrooms with LCD projectors and critique walls. LED lighting and more efficient HVAC systems were installed.

George Sherman Union
775 Commonwealth Avenue

Temporary offices were created at 775 Comm Ave in summer 2015 for the BU Arts Initiative. This summer, FM&P undertook phase two by renovating the second floor Sherman Gallery into shared gallery and new permanent office space for the initiative

The GSU also benefited from enhancements to the basement and third floor for use by Events & Conferences. The work will continue during the 2016 intersession.

Classroom Upgrades
725 Commonwealth Avenue

Upgrades to classrooms campus-wide continued throughout the summer. Several 725 Comm Ave basement classrooms were reconfigured to meet current teaching and instructional needs. They received upgraded media, LED lighting, energy-efficient HVAC, new furniture, and new seminar-style seating for 156 students.

Classroom Media Upgrades
64–96 Cummington Mall

As part of ongoing Information Services & Technology upgrades, 12 basement classrooms were upgraded this summer, with new media, furniture, and LED lighting.

Center for Integrated Life Sciences & Engineering
610 Commonwealth Avenue

Work continued on this state-of-the-art research facility over summer break. When completed in 2017, the $150 million LEED-registered building will enable interdisciplinary research among engineers, life scientists, and physicians from the Medical and Charles River Campuses. The 170,000-square-foot building will house neuroscience research, systems and synthetic biology research, a satellite vivarium, and a cognitive neuroimaging center.

The imaging center, community and colloquium spaces, and administration will occupy the ground floor. Floors two and three will house mechanical, electrical, and vivarium support; floors four through nine will be reserved for faculty research.

This summer, FM&P worked on interior projects, including the ceiling grids, flooring, lab casework, paint, and other finishes. Interior elevators were installed. Shared connections with 3–5 Cummington Mall, Morse Auditorium, and the loading dock were completed.

Landscaping around the structure and replacement of the Comm Ave sidewalk were also on the summer agenda.

Executive Leadership Center
595 Commonwealth Avenue

FM&P updated the fourth floor Executive Leadership Center servery (dining area) at the Questrom School of Business. Counters and wallpaper were replaced and the area painted.

The Fresh Food Company
Various locations

At the Marciano Commons Fresh Food Company, carpeting was replaced and a new condiment station added. The two-level dining facility in the Yawkey Center for Student Services at 100 Bay State Road seats more than 900 students.

New dining room carpeting was installed at the West Campus Fresh Food Company on Babcock Street. The facility has more than 20 food stations and serves 1,040,000 meals annually.

The Mongolian grill station at the Warren Towers Fresh Food Company was also upgraded this summer. The residential dining facility at 700 Comm Ave serves nearly a million meals per year.

Medical Campus

Robinson Renovations
750 Harrison Avenue

The Institutional Review Board moved from rented space at 560 Harrison Avenue to the fourth floor of the Robinson Building (B Building), one of the oldest buildings on campus, built in 1918. Renovations to B-4 included lighting, flooring, doors, paint, and HVAC work. The work started this summer and is expected to be finished in November.

Evans Auditorium
75 East Newton Street

The E Building basement was renovated as an additional auditorium for the School of Public Health and now holds 137 seats. The project included demolition of walls, painting, and flooring and HVAC work and displaced a section of the Clinical Skills Simulation Center. Minimal construction for the center’s relocation was done this summer.

L Building
72 East Concord Street

Work continues on the construction of two self-service workstations in the Instructional Building (L-3) for faculty and students to create videos incorporating camera, computer, and audio sources. Additional space for shooting videos is getting special lighting, backdrops and green screens, and other accessories. Construction of a VideoLink ReadyCam studio will facilitate direct, live video access to national network television and cable stations during an emerging medical or public health crisis. Wall changes, installation of acoustical tiles and flooring, and HVAC, lighting, data, and electrical work are part of the project.

The Slone Epidemiology Center is moving to the Medical Campus from rental space at 1010 Comm Ave. Demolition and installation of walls, HVAC, electrical, and flooring work, and painting are among the scheduled renovations.

An Operations group project is replacing and updating several air handler units. The upgrades affect L Building floors 8 through 10 (which house a gross anatomy lab and various research labs and offices) as well as the Hiebert Lounge on the 14th floor. The work started this summer and is ongoing.

Talbot Building
715 Albany Street

Renovations were done to the space formerly occupied by the FedEx Office store and Bank of America ATM in Talbot 1 West. The first floor was renovated to accommodate SPH program growth and new faculty, with new walls, doors, flooring, painting, induction units, ceiling grid work, building automation, and lighting.

Center for Advanced Biomedical Research
700 Albany Street

W Building (W-4) lab space was consolidated for use by the physiology and biophysics department. Enhancements were electrical and HVAC work, painting, flooring, and wall changes.

The total cost of these construction projects—not including the Myles dormitory renovation, the Center for Integrated Life Sciences & Engineering, and the BU Theatre Center—was $15.2 million, according to Jeffrey A. Hoseth, FM&P associate director of construction services.

This story originally ran July 18, 2016.