Lee Kennedy Co. completes Weld Hill Research facility for Harvard

Lee Kennedy Co., Inc. recently completed the new $33 million Weld Hill Research & Administration Building for the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University. Lee Kennedy Co. provided extensive preconstruction and construction services for the 42,000 s/f building, located on 14 acres adjacent to the arboretum. The facility, under consideration for LEED Gold certification, features state-of-the-art botanical science research laboratories and offices for researchers and staff. The complex houses a cold room; growth chambers; dark rooms; transgenic rooms with double air lock doors; lab skylights to enhance natural light and 12 greenhouses. The entire facility is heated and cooled by a geothermal system, for which Lee Kennedy Co. installed 88 geothermal wells on site. The project team included architect Kling Stubbins, electrical and mechanical engineer Cosentini Assoc. and structural engineer Weidlinger Assoc. Located in a dense, underdeveloped wooded area, Lee Kennedy Co.'s team took great care to disturb only the land that needed to be cleared for construction and implemented tree protection, on-site soil management and erosion control techniques to maintain the site. "Our team has constructed a world-class research facility that not only provides the highest quality lab and research capabilities, but is also respectful of the environment and the surrounding neighborhood," said Lee Kennedy Co. CEO Lee Michael Kennedy. "We are proud to have been part of such a socially responsible project."