175 North Harvard Street, 100 South Campus Drive
The following is an overview of the work taking place at the 175 North Harvard construction site at the future location of the new Harvard University affiliate housing building and American Repertory Theatre (ART).
- The structural steel phase of the housing project is finishing on upper levels. Steel decking installation and detailing continues and is expected to be complete this month. Concrete deck placements will continue on upper levels to the roof and should be complete in early February. Mechanical, electrical, and plumbing trades are working throughout the site. Work continues working on small utilities, including storm, duct bank, and data and is backfilling around the foundation. Crews are fireproofing on several levels. This work will continue progressing up the building. Crews are backfilling foundations and performing site work.
- The tower crane will be in use for the next few weeks during normal working hours. The crane is scheduled to be disassembled and removed from the site during the first week of February. Because this is a sizeable undertaking, the crane removal will require some after-hours work. More detail will be provided as the date gets closer.
- The height of the temporary construction hoist will need to be increased to the roof in the next couple of weeks before the crane is removed. More details will be provided as that work gets closer.
- Crews continue to install building wrap to retain temporary heat on upper floors during concrete and fireproofing activities. A small amount of noise associated with the temporary heaters falls within normal limits and may be heard off-hours. Tarping is removed at the lower floors after the fireproofing is complete.
- For the next several weeks, a combination of activities at both the new affiliate housing building and American Repertory Theatre (ART) projects will require periodic closures of South Campus Drive to all vehicles during working hours Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. All traffic leaving the Continuum and Trader Joe’s parking will be instructed to make a right turn only out of the garage. The road will be open to traffic each day after 5 p.m. and on weekends. Signage and details will be provided to divert traffic as needed, and police details will be on site to provide assistance.
- Occasional concrete deck placements continue on the upper levels to the roof level during regular work hours throughout this month – some finishing work will extend beyond 9 p.m. with the colder temperatures. Noise is generated by the power trowels used for finishing. The fresh concrete needs to be covered with blankets for warmth while curing. A pump truck will be present on South Campus Drive during concrete pours.
- Wheel washing and street sweeping continues to ensure soil is not being tracked through the neighborhood streets.
- On the new American Repertory Theater (ART) work site, interior wall placements were complete last week. Concrete placements and detailing will continue through January. Exterior wall waterproofing is ongoing. Backfilling for exterior walls and excavating for utilities continues. Utility work continues around the building perimeter. Steel detailing for the theatre’s stage and fly tower structure and concrete placements will run through January. An additional crane is needed to dismantle boom lifts from the slabs at the end of January.
- Mass timber (engineered wood products known for their strength, durability, versatility and sustainability) will follow beginning on Monday, February 24. A crane to support this work will mobilize mid-February.
- Work continues on the building mock-ups to review design and constructability across North Harvard Street. A surrounding structure will be built at the housing building mock-up to retain heat for flashing and masonry work. At the ART mockup, miscellaneous activities will take place intermittently.
- Crews at the affiliate housing building site will be working on Saturdays, January 18 and 25, weather permitting, to perform some welding and to install some steel sections. Heaters will be maintained by workers on Sundays through the winter.
- Off hours snow and ice removal are expected as needed.
- Both job sites will be closed on Monday, January 20, in observance of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day holiday.
- The project’s regular work hours are Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. and Saturdays as permitted by the City of Boston from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.