Spaulding continues with plans to move to Navy Yard by Patriot-Bridge Staff
CAPTION: An artist?s rendering of the Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital facility proposed for Parcel 6 in the Navy Yard.
Staff members of Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital met with the Charlestown Neighborhood Council (CNC) on March 18 to discuss its planned move to Parcel 6 in the Navy Yard.
According to David E. Storto, president of Spaulding Rehabilitation and Partners Continuing Care, the physical envelope of the building remains unchanged, but the programming within its interior has. The previous plan called for 150 adult beds, which has been reduced to 120, with the addition of a pediatric unit of 10-15 beds. The research space has also been increased from 6,000 square feet to 8,000.
Spaulding is in the process of gathering all the information it needs for the various city and state filings, such as an Institutional Master Plan, Draft Environmental Impact Report, and others. These documents could be ready within the next few weeks, and Spaulding is looking to get copies out to the public, have them reviewed, and receive input. As such, they are requesting a follow-up meeting with the CNC in four to six weeks. A signup sheet was circulated at the meeting for people who want to receive documents. Additionally, Partners will look into making the documents available electronically and getting a set to the library.
John Messervey of Partners pointed out that the development team is authorized to complete the design and get the filings together. They will require formal approval for construction, which he envisions will be in October. Whether Partners will authorize construction depends on its financial situation, considering the current economic conditions.
In addition to all the filings, Partners must go through a Chapter 21E and federal process as the site has some hazardous materials, including PCBs. It was suggested that a technical assistance person be assigned to work with the community on air quality issues and review the cleanup documents.
If things go optimally and construction is approved, Partners envisions commencing repair of the seawall and beginning site cleanup towards the end of 2009. This will take approximately six months and full construction would commence in mid-2010, with a completion date of 2012.
At the meeting, Partners also voiced its commitment to ongoing dialogue during the design and construction process.