BW Kennedy & Co. Wins ABC Eagle Award

Arlington, MA – BW Kennedy & Co. announced the Associated Builders and Contractors’ selection of 75 Hayden Ave. in Lexington to receive a prestigious Eagle Award for construction excellence.

This complicated project consisted of a new Class A, 221,300sf, 4-story life science building; 9-story, 1091-car parking garage; and unique precast boardwalk that crosses protected wetland stream channels and connects various areas of the campus to parking. A beautiful building entry, added landscaping, site lighting, parking, and upgrades to an adjacent trail head bordering the property, create a welcoming campus atmosphere.

The existing west road leading to the building entry has undergone improvement, while the area outside the entry now includes an extensive concrete unit paver crosswalk and “plaza” area.  The plaza has a view of the exterior building “U,” a unique architectural feature above the main lobby roof where sections of the building’s west elevation come together in a “U” shape. The plaza includes regional plantings and hardscape, as well as lighting designed to illuminate sculptures.  The building lobby radiates warmth, with natural light coming into the space from roof skylights.  The lobby also includes high-end light fixtures, a “cloud” ceiling, and a state-of-the-art modern library.

King Street brought BW Kennedy & Co. on board during the conceptual design of the project. BW Kennedy’s design-build approach, including architect Perkins + Will and its MEP team partners, allowed for an iterative design process, giving the client real time pricing feedback as the architectural concepts were refined.

The BW Kennedy project team completed the project in multiple phases to accommodate the needs of the existing campus.

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Prior to the project, the location of the new building and garage served as a tenant parking lot.  The first phase of the project consisted of building the new parking garage, and the team created a temporary walkway to guide pedestrians from the garage to other parts of the campus during building construction.

Thorough logistics and safety plans were implemented to minimize impacts to tenants at the existing buildings.  Construction vehicle access to the site was coordinated with the site property management team, with any special delivery, road shutdown, etc. planned far in advance.  With thorough planning, there were no incidents with tenants during the duration of the project.

There were obstacles and unforeseen issues encountered in the site such as difficult soil, lower than designed bearing soil elevations, boulders, and coordinating around extensive wetlands.  BW Kennedy openly communicated any issues encountered with the client and property manager, and were able to work around these issues in order to maintain schedule.

The 75 Hayden building is fully leased and BW Kennedy & Co. is currently fitting out space for Dicerna Pharmaceuticals, Voyager Therapeutics, Frequency Therapeutics, and Valo Therapeutics.