Boston – Former Boston Mayor Marty Walsh recently visited the project site at Boston’s City Hall Plaza. A groundbreaking was held recently and renovations are currently underway.
Phase 1 of the project will deliver updated civic spaces and programming capabilities and will add infrastructure to make the plaza more sustainable and user-friendly year round. Other improvements include connecting Congress and Cambridge Streets with an accessible sloped promenade.
Patrick Brophy, chief of operations, City of Boston; Mayor Martin J. Walsh, City of Boston; Bob Johnson, senior superintendent, Shawmut Design and Construction; and Mike Sanchez, New England region COO, Shawmut Design and Construction / Photo by John Wilcox
Opening up the plaza for all includes re-opening the north entrance, which has been closed since 2001, allowing easier access to the second floor of the building for the public. The renovation includes creating six new “plug and play” locations for community events, space for 10,000-12,000 visitors on the main plaza, three smaller special event and gathering places, and a new civic building on Congress Street.
Creating a sustainable City Hall Plaza that meets the city’s environmental goals is one of the key parts of the renovation. The project will make the plaza environmentally sustainable, meeting Boston’s resilience standards. The renovation includes an increase in permeable surfaces that will soak up stormwater, planning ahead for severe weather in Downtown Boston. The design also includes 100 new trees, improving the shade, scale and air quality of the plaza. Fifty lights will be replaced with efficient LED technology, and 22,500 feet of granite and brick paving will be reused or recycled.
The plaza design and implementation is led by global design firm, Sasaki, based in Boston. Shawmut Design and Construction is the construction manager for the project.
