Dear Neighbors,
As we shared with you this summer, the Radcliffe Institute has engaged a contractor to renovate Greenleaf House, the Institute’s dean’s residence located at 76 Brattle Street. The scope of the project consists of full exterior and interior renovations, as well as site and landscaping work.
Mobilization activities for some work inside Greenleaf House began this summer along with some site set up, fencing installation, and signage placement. Now, after a brief postponement, work will begin on the exterior of Greenleaf House beginning on Wednesday, September 17, 2025.
Project Timeline & Work Hours
- Construction on Greenleaf House is scheduled for completion by June 2026.
- Work hours will be Monday–Friday, 7:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
- Occasional Saturday work (9:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m.) may be necessary—with advanced notice provided for any weekend or after-hours activity.
- Utility work begins in the street in front of Greenleaf House on Monday, September 15, for several weeks. Neighbors were notified of this work last week.
Community Impacts
- Some noise can be expected during regular work hours due to the equipment needed to perform the renovation work.
- Exterior demolition of the house’s rear stairs will take place from Wednesday, September 17, through Monday, September 22 (Monday through Friday only). Electric power tools will be used for this work and will create some noise.
- Exterior scaffolding is scheduled to go up around the perimeter of the house starting the week of September 22 through the week of October 6.
- Beginning the week of October 6, roofing restoration and masonry work will begin. The masonry restoration will require the use of electric power tools with some grinding taking place. This work will produce some noise. Dust will be minimal and will be managed by wetting down the masonry surfaces.
- Trucks needed to support the work will be positioned in the driveway and occasionally in the street, as needed.
- Traffic flow on Brattle Street between Ash Street and Appian Way will be adjusted when work is taking place in the street. Abutters will be notified in advance of any work in Brattle Street and access to neighborhood buildings and homes will always be maintained during street work.
- The contractor will be using white noise alarms on construction equipment in place of audible backup alarms whenever possible to help minimize noise.
- The job site is secured with fencing lined with protective screening.
- A pest control program has been initiated, and debris is being managed and removed promptly from the property.
- Workers are not parking their personal vehicles on city streets.
Neighbors will receive additional updates in advance of any Saturday, after-hours, or street work. Any project updates issued will also be posted at construction.harvard.edu. If you would like to receive these updates via email, please send your email to mitigation@csl-consulting.com.
If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please contact Harvard Construction Mitigation at (617) 496-0857 or mitigation@csl-consulting.com.
Thank you for your cooperation as we begin the exterior work on this project.
Kind regards,
Harvard University Construction Mitigation