BOND awarded Boston College's 245,000 s/f residence hall; designed to achieve LEED Silver

BOND is providing construction services for Boston's College's nearly 245,000 s/f residence hall at 2150 Commonwealth Ave. The project will allow for an additional 490 student beds in a mix of apartment-style suites for BC students. Located on the site of the former St. Thomas More Hall, the project required the demolition of this building. The residence hall is expected to achieve LEED Silver certification and will be completed in June 2016, in time for the 2016 academic year. Boston College stakeholders looked to hire a firm with expertise in Lean construction methodologies. The BOND team successfully completed a 305-bed residence hall at Wentworth Institute of Technology utilizing Lean principals of pull planning and small batch execution. These strategies proved to be successful in optimizing project value by fast-tracking a challenging schedule and mitigating multiple project risks associated with a tight, urban site. Similar Lean techniques will be applied to the 2150 Commonwealth Ave. project to minimize waste and maximize efficiency. Hired by Boston College as the project's design neared the completion of construction documents, BOND's preconstruction team immediately became involved in a series of budgeting, constructability, and value analysis. The team also developed a procurement plan under a guaranteed maximum price (GMP) format that allowed for demolition with abatement in early spring 2014, while ensuring overall budget adherence. "We are excited to be building the next residential experience at Boston College," said Robert Murray, BOND president. "Our understanding and work with Lean construction will produce a quality structure that better complements a 21st century academic model."