Contractors Dig In to Columbus Center
Contractors working on the Columbus Center air rights project met with abutting residents for the first time last week, although preliminary work on the support structure for a deck over the Mass Pike began weeks ago.
The construction committee meetings were the first in a series meant to keep residents and business owners abreast of work on the three-and-a-half year project. A letter dated October 5 went to neighborhood associations outlining 30 days of pre-construction activity.
The meetings are called for in the Construction Management Plan (CMP) approved in 2006 for the residential complex and hotel that will span four blocks between Clarendon and Arlington streets.
Ned Flaherty, a longtime opponent and direct abutter of the project, said that he became acutely aware that work had begun on September 26, when he felt vibrations from drilling at his apartment. He has since sent a letter to the Boston Transportation Department (BTD), which oversees the CMP, outlining a list of 22 "broken promises" on the part of the developers in complying with the approved plan.
"Despite 12 years of planning, this project is already out of control," the letter states.
Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) spokesperson Jessica Shumaker said the notification procedures are being implemented now that construction is "ramping up."
"From our point of view, full construction has not yet begun," said Shumaker, who was also speaking on behalf of BTD.
In addition to the weekly meetings with the BRA-appointed six-member construction committee, which are to be open to all abutters according to the CMP, the developers will set up a website, post large-scale signs onsite with project and contractor information, and have quarterly meetings with the neighborhood associations, Shumaker said.
Roger Cassin, the head of the project's development team, described the work that has taken place so far as "preparing the site."
The early stages of work, much of which has been concentrated in a staging area off Stanhope Street, include test drilling in preparation for setting the piles that will serve as support columns for the deck. Crews will also be relocating fiber optic lines, work that will involve the partial closure of Pike lanes late at night.
The total projected construction time for the deck is two and a half years. Construction of the buildings on the deck will take at least another year.
According to the lease agreement with the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, the developers are liable for any damage to the Pike, and public infrastructure that results from construction, in addition to damage caused to nearby properties. The project has been insured for $500 million, a figure that only covers the first stages of construction, Cassin said.
The construction firm building the deck is J.F. White, which did repair work on the Big Dig tunnel following the collapse of ceiling panels last year.
John Shope, a Bay Village resident and member of the construction committee, said all those who spent years reviewing the project knew this time was coming. "it's a complicated project," he said. "We're all going to have to work together to minimize the inconvenience caused by a project on this scale"
Cassin, for his part, vowed that going forward the community would be well informed of what is happening at the construction site.
He also expressed relief that after years of acrimonious debate over teh pfoject, work was finally beginning. "I love any problem which involves being on the site and getting dirt on my shoes," he said.