150 Mass. Ave., Berklee College of Music, Boston

Boston, MA Berklee College of Music is undertaking a renovation and restoration project at 150 Massachusetts Ave., one of Berklee’s core academic and student life buildings on the campus. Since last summer, Isaac Blair & Co. has been working for general contractor Columbia Construction to install the shoring required to support the structure during renovation, which includes the removal of a single-story, ground-floor addition to the building on the north side of Belvidere St. The renovation is designed to open up valuable sidewalk space for pedestrian traffic, enhance accessibility to and from the neighboring Saint Cecilia Church, and also enable a redesign of the façade to more closely resemble the appearance of the former Sherry-Biltmore Hotel. The shoring provided by Isaac Blair is allowing for the dismantling of brick piers and columns along Mass. Ave. and the entire Belvidere St. side of the building.

Since the 1950s, the structure has undergone multiple renovations and with each one, additional layers of steel were added to the existing steel framing. These layers of steel have added a challenge to the project as each layer has to be dismantled in the order it was installed. As a result, Isaac Blair has installed the appropriate shoring applications in phases. To accomplish this and in consideration of poor soil conditions, Isaac Blair is installing “double needle” shoring systems to support the six-story structure from the first floor. This system allows the shoring to be mounted on top of the existing foundation wall, which transfers the load directly back into the building’s foundation.  This type of shoring utilizes multiple different shoring techniques.

Isaac Blair is expected to be on site through late spring/early summer. The project is scheduled for completion in the fall of 2016.

Isaac Blair & Company, Inc. is approaching 200 years in operation and is well established as a premiere specialty construction shoring and rigging company in New England. Purchased by Daniel Marr & Son in 1969 and part of the Marr Companies, Isaac Blair’s wealth of experience is a valuable asset allowing for decisive responses to crises and for designing the best and most comprehensive solutions