Tufts Development Projects

[JumboBuc]

Tufts broke ground on a few significant projects this spring and has plans drawn up for one more major development in the future, so I thought it might be time for a Tufts-specific development thread (all the other schools have 'em!).

Central Energy Plant (CEP):

The CEP is a new co-generation plant being built on Boston Ave in Medford, carved out of the hill just south of Dowling Hall (the parking garage and administration building). The facility will provide the campus with electricity, steam, hot water, and chilled water for cooling and include:

-A cogeneration plant, which will provide 4 MWs of power, reduce energy costs for the Medford campus by approximately 20%, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the Medford campus by over 12%
-Three new high-efficiency steam boilers, which will replace the less efficient boilers in the existing plant
-Efficient chillers and cooling towers, which will provide air conditioning to the new Science and Engineering Complex, Tisch, and can be expanded to serve additional buildings in the future
-Increased reliability of the electrical power supply to the Medford campus
-A glass façade, which will allow the Tufts and Medford communities to see what is happening inside this modern facility
-Landscaping with native plants

The project is scheduled for completion in the summer of 2016. At that time, the current 1950s-era heating plant (and its smokestack) will be demolished.

Renderings:

Progress:

Science & Engineering Complex (SEC):

The 175k sq.ft. SEC will located in the triangle formed by Boston Ave, Dearborn Rd, and College Ave, straddling the Somerville/Medford line. The building will contain 79k sq.ft. of lab space, including:

-Three floors of wet lab space to accommodate up to 21 principal investigators (PIs) in phase one; wet lab space that is “shelled” for future fit out could accommodate up to an additional 17 PIs.
-Four core facilities, two imaging suites, and a mass spectrometer suite; space that is “shelled” for future fit out could accommodate additional core facilities.
-Two introductory and two advanced teaching labs serving students in Biology, Biomedical Engineering, Chemical and Biological Engineering, and Chemistry
-Seven new meeting rooms, in addition to two meeting rooms that will remain in Anderson.
-Social spaces, including a café, an indoor atrium, an outdoor plaza, and “living rooms” in the center of each lab floor.

The project is scheduled for completion in summer of 2017 to be ready for the 2017-2018 academic year.

Renderings:

Progress:

Cummmings future air-rights academic building:

The 100k sq.ft. Cummings academic building is planned to be built at the intersection of Boston and College Avenues in Medford, with two-thirds of the building sitting on Tufts land north of the intersection and one-third built in the air rights over the future Green Line station. The building will include ground-floor retail, upstairs academic and meeting space (no labs or dormitories), and a footbridge crossing Boston Ave and connecting to "The Hill". As part of the air rights agreement Tufts will take over maintenance and security at the MBTA station.

Renderings:

 

[TomOfBoston]

Good luck dealing with the MBTA re: air rights.

 

[vanshnookenraggen]

You do realize that the MBTA is on board with this all the way to the point of delaying the final design of the Tufts-College Ave station until this project is fully designed?

 

[Arlington]

thanks for creating this thread, JumboBuc! The CEP and SEC look good.

as Van notes the T (and most immediate neighbors) love the idea of the Tufts air rights building because Tufts would also supply maintenance and 24/7 security for the station plaza.

Any details on the now-filling complex at Boston@Harvard? What I found interesting there was that they are inviting The fresh-pasta place from Davis Sq to open a second location there in the "pavilion" created from an old single story garage

 

[TomOfBoston]

You do realize that the MBTA is on board with this all the way to the point of delaying the final design of the Tufts-College Ave station until this project is fully designed?

The MBTA is "on board" with Northeastern building the ARC pedestrian bridge over the southwest corridor and the funding is in place yet the MBTA is still dragging its feet.

 

[George_Apley]

The MBTA is "on board" with Northeastern building the ARC pedestrian bridge over the southwest corridor and the funding is in place yet the MBTA is still dragging its feet.

Can you elaborate?

 

[dshoost88]

Can you elaborate?

As I recall, Northeastern's Arc-shaped pedestrian bridge over the MBTA Orange and commuter rail lines has been delayed because MBTA has not begun work on a platform expansion or track realignment at the Ruggles T station. The two were supposed to be constructed simultaneously (i.e. some of the bridge supports will be included on the MBTA's reconstruction site), but now that the MBTA has delayed this improvement (... expectedly...) the completion and opening of the arc bridge for Northeastern has been thrown into question.

 

[TomOfBoston]

My point is that when dealing with the MBTA you have to plan for "delays" whether you are a commuter or a developer.

 

[Arlington]

While Northeastern may be in a hurry to get its bridge independent of the Ruggles rebuild, Tufts' desire for an air rights building is pretty much completely synched to station opening

Tufts doesn't need its building sooner (Unlike NE's bridge, there's no particular prior academic/campus need that'd being held held contingent on the T's completion). Tufts simply wants to make the best long-term use of the GLX when it opens. *when* the station opens, they'd like it to have a Cafe, a plaza, good security, good ped/bike access, and a pedestrian bridge to the hilltop--IIRC the Tufts rep said something like 30% or 40% of the building would be devoted to public amenities and circulation.

The academic/classroom/office space is, for now, raw space with no particular need or assigned use.

There will be something like 10 parking spots integrated into the basement, but mostly because its a basement, not because 10 spaces solves some problem.

In short, Tufts' need is for a station that doesn't suck, and they're willing to pay for it, and don't need to un-suck a station until there is one, but it'd be too late to un-suck after the T was open.

In the joint presentation that Tufts and MassDOT made in June it was very clear that:

1) Everyone knows that Tufts' building has to wait until the station is built
2) MassDOT has to build its station footings before Tufts can build directly on top of it
3) Tufts will pay all incremental costs to augment the foundation and bridgework over the tracks (design, materials, labor)

Tufts hopes to be topped out (and even enclosed) by the time the station opens, but doesn't expect to be done with the interior.

If the source of delays in station-opening turns out to be shortage of rolling stock or yard space (GLX Phase 3), then there's an outside chance that Tufts' building will get built and open before the GLX starts operating, but Tufts' doesn't really want their building being a glorified bus shelter.

 

[TomOfBoston]

Surprise!
http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/20...n-projected/dU65AoqBXDs4T33K97AMXN/story.html
(not really)

 

[vanshnookenraggen]

Lets keep all the Green Line discussion in the GLX thread.

 

[TomOfBoston]

My point in posting it here was that projects involving a partnership with the MBTA are risky, e.g. this proposed Tufts building.

 

[Arlington]

My point in posting it here was that projects involving a partnership with the MBTA are risky, e.g. this proposed Tufts building.

your point isn't probative here. Tufts has no need for its building apart from *whenever* College Ave opens. Delay poses no risk to anything at Tufts--it just means their endowment and Mr Cummings (of Propery Management fame and a rock solid alumnus/ board member/donor) just keep earning money on their portfolio in the meantime.

 

[cca]

Until China implodes ... oh wait ... my broker just texted me.

cca

 

[Arlington]

Until China implodes ... oh wait ... my broker just texted me.

Unlikely that Mr Cummings, a trustee emeritus of Tufts, who made his fortune in metro Boston real estate would worry (or even get such a text). IF his property values fall, they'll probably get a bargain on construction costs.

The point remains: Timing is pretty much irrelevant for this project, no matter how wonky the MBTA has been elsewhere (or even if they balk/delay here).

If a station happens, MBTA has perfect plan for accommodating Tufts, and Tufts has proposed what it must to control the access, plaza, security, & an air rights building whenever that date falls. And neither owes the other anything until then.

 

[cca]

Well ain't he the smart one. Oh ...and that text was my broker telling me that the $150 I have invested in forest fire fighting equipment is doing ok.

cca

 

[JumboBuc]

12/12/15 Updates

Central Energy Plant:

Science & Engineering Complex:

 

[JumboBuc]

The new Science & Engineering Complex is coming along:

 

[whighlander]

Tufts and Brandeis have always been the quirky ones in the local U's mix

They both have rich students and rich alumni -- yet they are clearly not in the local top tier that now includes BU and NEU. However, like U Mass Boston they have potential to move up, especially if they don't try to be

What they need to do is became really good at a small to medium number of areas and use their endowments and alumni funds well

In- particular -- I would suggest that building empty buildings and hoping to fill them is not a model for success

 

[tjrileymass]

Tufts and Brandeis have always been the quirky ones in the local U's mix

They both have rich students and rich alumni -- yet they are clearly not in the local top tier that now includes BU and NEU. However, like U Mass Boston they have potential to move up, especially if they don't try to be

What they need to do is became really good at a small to medium number of areas and use their endowments and alumni funds well

In- particular -- I would suggest that building empty buildings and hoping to fill them is not a model for success

The new science and engineering building won't be empty - I know for a fact this guy's lab is going to be located in there. He's doing something interesting
work with tissue growth and just got a huge endowment.