Abbot restores brick façade of historic Jamaica Plain building at 82 Green Street

82 Green Street - Jamaica Plain, MA

Jamaica Plain, MA Abbot recently restored the façade of a historic three-story building at 82 Green St. The building formerly served as a public elementary school until the city of Boston determined that it was no longer needed in their educational system. The city decided to create a reuse for the building and, toward that end, designated the Pine Street Inn, a non-profit organization that provides outreach, shelter, training, and emergency services to underprivileged citizens, as the developer.

The developer initiated the renovation by converting the interior of the building to a series of affordable apartments. Then, as part of a proactive effort to improve the structure of the building, the developer determined that extensive repairs were required to fortify the exterior.

Following an evaluation by its engineering firm (Commercial Construction Consulting, Inc., Boston), the developer created a series of plans and specifications to replace the roof that had served its useful life, and repair the façade. Abbot was selected for the project based on a competitive bidding process.

To complete the multi-faceted restoration, Abbot performed the following masonry work: • Cut and repointed the brick on all four sides of the building; • Reduced the height of two brick chimneys on the roof; • Reused a significant amount of bricks from the two chimneys to replace cracked and damaged bricks thereby maintaining the aesthetics of the building; and • Installed a new slate roof and copper trim.

Built during Jamaica Plain’s development boom before the turn of the 20th century, the former Bowditch School is a three-story brick and sandstone building with a granite base. Designed in the Classical Revival style, the building features a main facade with a projecting three-part pavilion, with square entry openings at the base. Round arch windows adorn the top level, with a modillioned cornice above these windows and under the roofline. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.

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; and • Concrete repair and protection.