Project of the Month: Timberline Construction begins 20,000 s/f renovation of The Dimock Center's Community Health Center

Timberline Construction Corp. is working with the owner's representative Seth Ravitz Associates, Inc. (SAR+) and architect DiGiorgio Associates, Inc. on The Dimock Center's Community Health Center (CHC) 20,000 s/f renovation, funded by a HRSA Grant. DiGiorgio redesigned the space to accomplish the spatial, quality and program goals of The Dimock Center. The program areas include common areas, dental suites, mental health counseling units, outpatient diagnostic facilities, primary care outpatient services and physical therapy. The project sought to expand program offerings for patients while improving the existing infrastructure and incorporating a patient-centered healthcare model for the medical home. The 46,000 s/f Dimock Center is recognized as a national model for providing comprehensive health and human services in underserved urban neighborhoods. As the second largest health center in Boston, Dimock offers three divisions: health and HIV care; behavioral health; and child and family services. Located on a nine-acre campus it provides Boston residents with convenient access to quality healthcare that may otherwise be unavailable in the community. The Dimock Center is affiliated with the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC). As an advocate for increasing the access to care for the more vulnerable residents, Dr. Myechia Minter-Jordan, the president and CEO of the Dimock community center, led the successful effort to secure the federal grant to expand the capacity of Dimock's health center facility. "Timberline's roots are based locally in Dorchester, so we understand the challenges that inner city communities face and admire the mission of Dr. Myechia Minter-Jordan and her team at the Dimock Community Health Center. We are proud to be their partner for this exciting project and proud that our contributions will profoundly benefit the community for years to come," said Steven Kelly, president, Timberline. This current phased project within the three-story occupied facility at 45 Dimock St. consists of interior renovations and alterations spanning nearly 20,000 s/f over three floors within an outpatient clinic and medical office. The phasing will allow for department moves between project phases, at the occupied facility without a disruption to services. Construction includes the demolition of selective existing building components for the renovation and fit-out of the space with high-end finishes and upgrades to the necessary building systems. Given the nature of the facility, adherence to the phasing plan, schedule and Timberline's ICRA and ILSM Operating Procedures is critical. Also all work is being tightly coordinated and performed around the center's existing medical operations and daily hours of operation six to seven day per week. This includes construction activities, access to the site for manpower and delivery of materials, any M/E/P/FP shut downs, storage, debris removal and all other components of the work. The $4 million renovation includes a 16 room adult medicine clinic, as well as reconfiguring the behavioral health clinic and three exam rooms within the existing OB/GYN clinic. Community care and an eight exam room eye clinic will also be relocated. The project also expands program offerings; two exam rooms will be added to the pediatric clinic, two pediatric operatories will be created for the dental clinic and a physical therapy program will be added to the center. Project completion is scheduled for December 2014. "This project is most certainly a challenging one, with multiple phases in a fully occupied healthcare facility. Timberline's experience, strong commitment to budget and schedule, and the upmost professional ability to work in parallel with the facility, have created the kind of project that doesn't happen often enough. We would welcome the opportunity to work with the Timberline team again, and hope that this market realizes their potential on future projects," said Gary Walker, senior associate, SAR+. Timberline has completed multiple healthcare projects for UMass Memorial Medical Center and Fresenius Medical Care. In addition to The Dimock Community Health Center project, the team is working on the final phase at Family Health Center of Worcester and renovations at Whittier Health Rehab, Beth Israel Deaconess - Milton Hospital and the Hannah Duston Health Center. Leading the healthcare team is Christy Murphy, vice president and project executive. Murphy offers over 15 years of experience in the construction industry. Murphy is well versed in various types of institutional projects ranging in size and complexity from $2 million to $140 million. Timberline Const. is a growing full-service general contracting firm based in Canton, Mass. and serving a national client base with a diverse project portfolio throughout the northeast U.S. Timberline serves the healthcare, academic, data center, corporate, hospitality, retail, restaurant, supermarket, residential and wireless sectors.