Suffolk Construction was recently awarded the construction contract for Boston’s newest residential tower, The Kensington, located at 659 Washington Street.
The 27-story, 488,000-sf building will offer 381 luxury rental apartments, 2,300-sf of ground floor retail space, and 110 parking spaces. Amenities will include fully equipped clubrooms, a sixth floor open air heated pool with a landscaped terrace, tech-savvy common areas, and a state-of-the-art fitness facility.
Suffolk recently broke ground on The Kensington, which will create 400 new jobs and bring long-awaited additional residential units to Boston’s Theater District neighborhood. It will be the latest Suffolk project built in the area, joining the Archstone Boston Common, Suffolk University Modern Theatre, and Boston Opera House.
In addition to ground-floor retail space there will be an exhibit of artifacts from the Gaiety Theatre. The project has also provided funds to the nearby Hong Lok House to assist in the development of affordable housing for Chinatown seniors. In keeping with Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino’s recent initiative to promote smoke-free living spaces in the city, The Kensington will be completely smoke-free. It will also be designed and built to achieve LEED Gold certification. BD+C
Related Stories
| Aug 11, 2010
PCA partners with MIT on concrete research center
MIT today announced the creation of the Concrete Sustainability Hub, a research center established at MIT in collaboration with the Portland Cement Association (PCA) and Ready Mixed Concrete (RMC) Research & Education Foundation.
| Aug 11, 2010
Study explains the financial value of green commercial buildings
Green building may be booming, especially in the Northwest, but the claims made for high-performance buildings have been slow to gain traction in the financial community. Appraisers, lenders, investors and brokers have found it difficult to confirm the value of high-performance green features and related savings. A new study of office buildings identifies how high-performance green features and systems can increase the value of commercial buildings.
| Aug 11, 2010
Architecture Billings Index flat in May, according to AIA
After a slight decline in April, the Architecture Billings Index was up a tenth of a point to 42.9 in May. As a leading economic indicator of construction activity, the ABI reflects the approximate nine to twelve month lag time between architecture billings and construction spending. Any score above 50 indicates an increase in billings.
| Aug 11, 2010
Architecture Billings Index drops to lowest level since June
Another stall in the recovery for the construction industry as the Architecture Billings Index (ABI) dropped to its lowest level since June. The American Institute of Architects (AIA) reported the August ABI rating was 41.7, down slightly from 43.1 in July. This score indicates a decline in demand for design services (any score above 50 indicates an increase in billings).
| Aug 11, 2010
RTKL names Lance Josal president and CEO
Lance K. Josal FAIA has been named President and CEO of RTKL Associates Inc., the international planning, design and engineering firm. Josal succeeds RTKL’s current President and CEO, David C. Hudson AIA, who is retiring from the firm. The changes will take effect on 1 September 2009.
| Aug 11, 2010
Balfour Beatty agrees to acquire Parsons Brinckerhoff for $626 million
Balfour Beatty, the international engineering, construction, investment and services group, has agreed to acquire Parsons Brinckerhoff for $626 million. Balfour Beatty executives believe the merger will be a major step forward in accomplishing a number of Balfour Beatty’s objectives, including establishing a global professional services business of scale, creating a leading position in U.S. civil infrastructure, particularly in the transportation sector, and enhancing its global reach.
| Aug 11, 2010
Construction unemployment rises to 17.1% as another 64,000 construction workers are laid off in September
The national unemployment rate for the construction industry rose to 17.1 percent as another 64,000 construction workers lost their jobs in September, according to an analysis of new employment data released today. With 80 percent of layoffs occurring in nonresidential construction, Ken Simonson, chief economist for the Associated General Contractors of America, said the decline in nonresidential construction has eclipsed housing’s problems.
| Aug 11, 2010
Billings at U.S. architecture firms exceeds $40 billion annually
In the three-year period leading up to the current recession, gross billings at U.S. architecture firms increased nearly $16 billion from 2005 and totaled $44.3 billion in 2008. This equates to 54 percent growth over the three-year period with annual growth of about 16 percent. These findings are from the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Business of Architecture: AIA Survey Report on Firm Characteristics.
