Abbot Building Restoration completes work on Schrafft Center

Charlestown, MA Abbot Building Restoration completed a major restoration of the historic brick and concrete clock tower at the Schrafft Center. Back in 2014, the owner awarded a bid to another contractor to perform a two-phase restoration –targeting the east and south elevations for Phase 1 and the north and west elevations for Phase 2. The contractor began Phase 1 work in late summer of 2015 but was not able to complete the project before the winter.

Following a dispute between the owner and the contractor, the owner decided to rescind the contract for non-performance, and brought Abbot in to correct Phase 1 deficiencies and proceed with Phase 2 in the Spring 2015. Abbot had been working on various aspects of the Schrafft Center for over a decade and, in this case, the owner decided not to seek other bids and came back to Abbot due to Abbot’s familiarity with the complex and its strong track record in the industry.

The scope of Abbot’s work included the following:

Schrafft Center - Charlestown, MA

• Concrete repair;

• Repointing;

• Replacement of deteriorated brick;

• Replacement of deteriorated steel lintels;

• Miscellaneous caulking; and

• Coating of all precast concrete.

Significantly, Abbot was most careful to protect the historic clock on the west elevation from potential damage during the scaffolding and entire restoration process.

The former Schrafft’s Candy Factory, with its distinctive neon sign, has been a Boston landmark since 1928. Located on the shores of the Mystic River along the scenic Boston Harborwalk, the 600,000 s/f building was converted by the Flatley Company into a mixed-use commercial property in 1984.

Abbot provides a broad range of masonry construction services to public, institutional, and commercial clients, including condominiums, property management entities, and private residences. The firm also acts as a general contractor for a variety of masonry building construction projects.

Specific areas of expertise include: Brick and stone restoration; Repointing and recaulking; andConcrete repair and protection.