A small group met at the Brookside Community Health Center in Jamaica Plain on Thursday, January 17, to discuss updates on the construction currently underway at 3197 Washington Street. In attendance were the construction team for the project and representatives from local neighborhood associations.
The construction team had been invited to the meeting by local neighborhood associations to discuss how construction would impact the local com Associations, Carolyn Royce from Parkside and Egleston Square Neighborhood Associations, Scott Shear from Brookside Neighborhood Association and neighbor Richard Heath.
The construction site is the future home of a 42,000 square foot development at the corner of Montebello and Washington Streets featuring 40 condos, 20 parking spaces and 2,560 square feet of retail space. In charge of this project are Josh Fetterman of City Realty Group, project manager Jeremy Henry, and Christopher Grossman, the general contractor from New Boston Builders.
Armed with three posters of different construction phases, Henry provided updates on the construction plan, including timeline, work schedules, pedestrian access, vehicle management, rodent control, and site protection.
With most of the mass excavation already complete, the development is slated to be finished by early spring of 2020. A concrete foundation will be laid this winter, followed by the addition of steel in the spring. Approximately 25 non-union carpenters are slated to carry out the actual construction.
Drivers accessing the site will adhere to a strict 7am start time so as not to disturb neighbors in the early morning hours. Construction vehicles will have their own access to the site and will not be permitted to block traffic along major thoroughfares. A construction storage trailer will be housed off-site, with location to be determined.
In regards to safety, a police detail would be assigned only for scheduled deliveries, which will include weekly rebar deliveries. There will be temporary lighting installed on the sidewalks surrounding the project to ensure pedestrian safety.
The neighborhood associations have learned what to look for in a construction project after years of monitoring different properties erected in the area. Concerns included parking for the 25 construction workers and how it would impact upon the parking options for local residents.
Henry stated that the workers would be encouraged to park along Washington Street and not on the side streets, but agreed that this was hard to enforce.
Another concern was how the laborers would be sourced. The city has jobs compliance standards for new construction projects to ensure the hiring of local and minority workers. Although this project isn’t large enough to be subject to the standards, the construction group was enthusiastic about hiring minority, female and local workers, and, asked for referrals for subcontractors.
Read more about the development at bostonplans.org/projects/development-projects/3193-washington-street. Subcontractors interested in the project can email [email protected].