Construction
NEWIRE Tour of Chestnut Hill Square
Here are some photos of the recent NEWiRE tour of the Chestnut Hill Square project we’re working on for New England Development. As a member of the project team for a couple of years now, I enjoyed hearing from NED’s Doug Karp about the project, and hearing feedback from attendees about the project’s design. And we even received a reward for attending – the retailers contributed to amazing gift bags, Wegmans provided beverages and light appetizers, and the evening was capped off at neighboring Capital Grille. Some of the stores are open now, with more opening this month and Wegman’s scheduled to open next spring (2014).
Worcester’s Transformation in the Globe
The latest article in the Boston Globe profiles the transformative nature of our CitySquare project in Worcester. Many of the topics discussed in this article go back to our initial discussions for the urban design approach to this project nearly 10 years ago. While the reconnection of the street network and the redevelopment of the urban streetscape seem like obvious goals, the realization of those goals required a complex partnership between our design team, developers, and the community. Arrowstreet is proud of what has been accomplished in downtown Worcester, and looks forward to the next phases of the CitySquare project and its significant impacts on the revitalization of New England’s second largest city.
Marblehead Teen Center Update
A nice update on our work in Marblehead on adding a teen center to their library appeared in the local paper yesterday. As it mentions, we’ve been working with the Abbot Public Library and Marblehead High School for about two and a half years now in both an educational and design role. Check out the article here.
Mirbeau Construction Update
Construction continues on Arrowstreet’s newest resort hotel. Located at The Pinehills in Plymouth Massachusetts, The Mirbeau Inn and Spa will be the second property in the Mirbeau brand conceived and developed by Gary and Linda Dower. The Plymouth property, like the flagship in Skaneateles NY, is inspired by French country architecture focused on a signature garden with ponds modeled after the Monet gardens of Giverny. Arrowstreet worked closely with the Dowers to design a property which would expand on the brand signatures of the original while developing a distinctive and unique appeal of its own…
Boston Globe on CitySquare
Paul McMorrow’s article in the Boston Globe this week was a thoughtful, nuanced description of our CitySquare project in Worcester. Advocating for a deliberateness in development as well as the importance of density to create a vibrant downtown, the article offers a glimpse into what makes a city successful. As McMorrow writes: “The city is currently working on rebuilding a downtown that looks and functions like one. It is a turnaround plan that celebrates the downtown, instead of suburbanizing it. It recognizes that good downtowns start with people, and once downtowns fill with people, business happens organically.” McMorrow also highlights the importance of residential density, a key component of our master plan, to the transformation of Worcester as it creates a critical mass of people invested in the success of their neighborhood…
NEWiRE Tour of Chestnut Hill
I’ll be helping lead a project spotlight tour tonight of Chestnut Hill Square with NEWiRE. The event details are below; I hope to see you there…
Technology in Construction
Arrowstreet relies on field reports to document the construction process on our projects. Visiting the site and making note of conditions, progress, and (occasionally) problems takes a lot of time and careful planning to manage the issues and archive the images. As the Brooke Mattapan Charter School addition/renovation enters the construction phase, we’re going to do something a little differently – using an option through Newforma (our project information management software) that allows use of a mobile app on an iPhone or iPad to immediately capture, track, and log project photos as we walk through the space. Taking advantage of new technology will speed the process even more; for instance by using the iPhone’s Siri we will be able to add text to whatever image is taken and avoid the pesky old-fashioned drag of writing notes and downloading everything once you return to the office. We look forward to never again having to invent a description of a detail that we don’t recall photographing!
Renovations at the Harvard Square Hotel
In June of last year, Arrowstreet completed an interiors renovation of the Harvard Square Hotel’s entry lobby and guestrooms. Our aim was to create a refreshed look in contemporary finishes, with a signature frosted glass rail staircase leading from the Mt. Auburn Street entry up to the concierge. To follow on the internal renovations, Arrowstreet is now assisting the hotel in a visual identity and rebranding effort on the building’s exterior…
Brooke Mattapan Charter School
We’re excited to announce the start of construction for the new Brooke Mattapan Charter School that will be opening in the fall of 2014. This K-8 school is an expansion of the extremely successful program that the Brooke School is currently operating in Roslindale, and the staff and students who will occupy the Mattapan site will be relocating from a temporary space elsewhere in Boston…
Rebuilding Together
I recently participated in a volunteer event organized by Rebuilding Together Boston. Rebuilding Together’s mission is to provide critical repairs and renovations for low-income homeowners across the United States. The organization gathered about 300 volunteers to participate in building rehabilitation projects throughout the city. The site I visited was a Dorchester home owned by a 63-year-old single woman who suffers from…