Mixed-use

The Speedway in Boston Completed

Courtesy of DFPray

Brighton, MA – D.F. Pray joined partners from The Speedway, the Architectural Heritage Foundation (AHF) Boston, Bruner/Cott Architects, and the local community to celebrate the official opening of  “The Speedway”.

Notch Brewing

The buildings and its central courtyard have been transformed into The Speedway. The complex is comprised of single-story, timber-framed structures that are connected by an irregular roofline to form an interior courtyard. The new space is now home to a mix of independent businesses and nonprofits. Some tenants include Notch Brewing Company,  a publicly accessible courtyard to host creative programs and events, and more.

The Speedway is innovative in its approach to sustainable, transformative re-use with Bruner/Cott’s design creating new uses for the site’s historic structures. Wood windows, doors, and interior millwork were either repaired or reconstructed to match the original aesthetic. The interior courtyard was reinvented as a publicly accessible gathering space. A new ramp to Building H shows the site’s racing history, resembling the earthen ramps that once led horses from the upper courtyard into the horse- barn.

Courtyard

Originally constructed between 1899 and 1940 as a recreational racetrack, The Charles River Speedway, the site had been largely abandoned.  AHF applied to revitalize it through the Department of Conservation and Recreation’s Historic Curatorship Program and was awarded a long-term lease to redevelop the site.