EXP | 795 Columbus Avenue | Northeastern University

The timeline for development approvals in this city confuses me, I was just browsing the documents and EXP received its Certificate of Compliance for ISD to issue building permits on August 7, 2021 well over a year after construction actually started. https://bpda.app.box.com/s/wqumwag8tsywn0fflxgr1hzssm5d1dsi

And then the Cooperation agreement, signed August 7 2021, which states in the future tense that "The Applicant anticipates commencing construction of the Project under a full building permit in April of 2021, with substantial completion of the Project planned by approximately by the third quarter of 2023" https://bpda.app.box.com/s/yxq6cohbvs5kz0814l2bin7iz5swm3qd

ISD then issued the building permit, ERT1049710, on August 13, 2021. Have we all been collectively imagining it being under construction for the past year?
 
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HelloBostonHi said:
The timeline for development approvals in this city confuses me, I was just browsing the documents and EXP received its Certificate of Compliance for ISD to issue building permits on August 7, 2021 well over a year after construction actually started. https://bpda.app.box.com/s/wqumwag8tsywn0fflxgr1hzssm5d1dsi

And then the Cooperation agreement, signed August 7 2021, which states in the future tense that "The Applicant anticipates commencing construction of the Project under a full building permit in April of 2021, with substantial completion of the Project planned by approximately by the third quarter of 2023" https://bpda.app.box.com/s/yxq6cohbvs5kz0814l2bin7iz5swm3qd

ISD then issued the building permit, ERT1049710, on August 13, 2021. Have we all been collectively imagining it being under construction for the past year?
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NEU Computer science and graphic design teams used drones to make this life size 3D hologram!
 
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HelloBostonHi said:
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I'll admit it's been a few years since I've seen the campus from this angle, but it's one I'm very familiar with from my days as a Husky Ambassador (tour guide): our tours would more or less start/end from where this photo was taken. EXP, ISEC, Lightview, and the forthcoming ACC residence hall that will tower behind Renaissance Garage in this photo (along with International Village just off screen) do a tremendous job framing in Centennial Common, further solidifying the Common as Northeastern's living room... which is no small feat on a campus rich with living rooms.

I'm really proud of what my alma mater has accomplished with its built environment. It's been a "beautiful urban campus" for the last generation, but continues to mature in an exemplary way: integrating urban transportation systems into the campus fabric, establishing an arboretum rich with botanical diversity, and still finding opportunities to improve permeability through the campus as it adds millions of square feet of new spaces. 👏
 
Do we have any idea when they're going to start work on the exterior in earnest? I was assuming they'd like to have the building sealed and weather tight before the winter hits, but that doesn't look quite likely anymore.
 
Anyone else surprised no glazing has gone up yet? Progress seems slow and steady here with the steel, whereas the BU stack is shooting up and already getting enclosed.
 
It looks to me that they're taking their sweet time fireproofing. It's been a few weeks and they've slowly climbed to the fifth floor.
 
Occupancy of the building is scheduled for summer, 2023.

ISEC also seemed to progress slowly.
 
I think part of it has to do with it being mostly high energy lab space, which means a lot more ventilation and utilities work than your standard office/residential/classroom space. They're still well within their original schedule:
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Bananarama said:
Anyone else surprised no glazing has gone up yet? Progress seems slow and steady here with the steel, whereas the BU stack is shooting up and already getting enclosed.
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TomOfBoston said:
Occupancy of the building is scheduled for summer, 2023.

ISEC also seemed to progress slowly.
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For comparison, MIT.nano Center took 6 years to design/construct. EXP is a similarly advanced science/engineering building, nearly twice the size, and half the timeline of MIT.nano (perhaps not quite as advanced as MIT's research may amount to, but this will still notably be NU's most advanced building). It's always good to manage expectations: the onslaught of lab/science buildings and research institutions will certainly have longer construction time frames than your run-of-the-mill multi-family building of similar square footage.
Brad Plaid said:
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A bench/see-saw contraption
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Excellent photos! Thank you!
 
stick n move said:
Id like to see the bridge thats built over the i90 realignment be something like this. It does a good job of visually linking together both sides by blocking out the view/noise of the tracks below and I think that would be even more appropriate across a whole highway, tracks, and sfr.
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Totally agree. this one was really tough to make happen (remember when it was two bridges? I think that got nixed by the rail people) but so worth it.
 
DwnTwnr said:
Totally agree. this one was really tough to make happen (remember when it was two bridges? I think that got nixed by the rail people) but so worth it.
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It wasn't necessarily nixxed by the rail people. NEU themselves shut that down after they saw through experience how big of a pain it was to deal with working over so many active ROWs.
 
Zash said:
It wasn't necessarily nixxed by the rail people. NEU themselves shut that down after they saw through experience how big of a pain it was to deal with working over so many active ROWs.
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I heard that it was the MBTA that nixed it but maybe Northeastern didn't fight it for the reason you mention.
 
TomOfBoston said:
I heard that it was the MBTA that nixed it but maybe Northeastern didn't fight it for the reason you mention.
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Zash's answer was correct.

The bureaucracy surrounding multiple rights of way (ROW) where the the Arc bridge was constructed was the reason cited by Northeastern for giving up on the second half of the Arc bridge to Sciences Quad. Although it would've been constructed as one construction project, it was officially two bridges, which means it was two crossings (quite close to each other). MBTA, Amtrak, MassDOT, City of Boston, multiple utilities, et al need to sign off on each bridge project like that one, not to mention the state and federal environmental reviews, maintenance planning, and multiple levels of public engagement (not simply a BPDA hearing or NU Task Force meeting). The approval timeline for the arc bridge did not align with NU's needs for a high volume pedestrian crossing, so NU made the call to only pursue the one crossing and plan around that.
 
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