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 BOSTON
- Saturday, July 11, 2020 - Mayor Martin J. Walsh announced the start of
construction for the renovation of City Hall Plaza, building on his
commitment to make public spaces welcoming, accessible and equitable for
all. The renovation will transform the Plaza into a civic space for all
residents, with universal accessibility, new civic spaces for all to use,
increased environmental sustainability, and critical infrastructure
improvements that will ensure the Plaza is safe and accessible for all for
generations to come.
"This
renovation is designed to turn our seven-acre space into a welcoming,
accessible space for all," said Mayor Walsh. "City Hall Plaza is
one of Boston's most-used public spaces, and we are working hard to create
safe areas for residents to gather as we strengthen our commitment to civic
services in our City."
The
Plaza design and implementation is led by global design firm Sasaki, based
in Watertown, Mass. Shawmut Design and Construction is the construction
manager for the project. The project is managed through the City's
Operations Cabinet by the Public Facilities Department in partnership with
the Property Management Department and is assisted by owners project
manager Skanska USA.
City
Hall Plaza's redesign includes a focus on:
A Welcoming Front Yard for Civic Life
With
Boston's renovated City Hall Plaza, this community space will become
universally accessible for residents of all abilities. Opening up the Plaza
for all will include re-opening the second floor of City Hall Plaza to the
public, allowing easier access to the building. This public-facing entrance
was closed in 2001, and will open again under the new renovation plan.
The
renovation also includes 3,000 new welcoming spaces for residents to
sit,12,000 square feet of playscapes for children and families, and 11,000
square feet of terraces for pop-up play and interactive public art.
Flexible and Accommodating Event Venues
Boston
City Hall Plaza renovation will right-size one of Boston's largest event
spaces, and create civic event spaces that can be used by all Boston
residents. The renovation includes creating seven new "plug and
play" locations for community groups to utilize, with space for 10,000
- 12,0000 visitors on the main Plaza, and room for a 20,000 - 25,000 person
gathering on the entire Plaza.
The
new design will also include three smaller event and gathering places, and
a new civic building on Congress Street, equipped with a bathroom and
other facilities to support public gatherings.
A Model of Sustainability and Resilience
Creating
a sustainable City Hall Plaza that meets the City's environmental goals is
one of the key parts of the Plaza renovation, and this renovation will make
City Hall Plaza one of Boston's signature civic spaces 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.
In
October 2017, Mayor Walsh released the Boston City Hall and Plaza Master
Planning Study: Rethink City Hall, which was led by Utile and Reed
Hilderbrand. The design phase led by Sasaki in 2018 has developed an
exciting design to transform the 50-year-old City Hall and Plaza into an
innovative, healthy, efficient and civic facility to better serve current
and future generations of Bostonians and visitors. After public engagement,
Mayor
Walsh released the Plaza design in June 2019.
The
Phase 1 City Hall Plaza project's main goal is to make the plaza more
accessible for all while delivering updated programming capabilities,
adding infrastructure and making the Plaza more sustainable. This $70
million investment will connect Congress and Cambridge Streets with an
accessible sloped Hanover Promenade activated by 21st century civic
amenities like shady seating and gathering areas, a destination play space,
public art space and an iconic water feature. The main plaza will
accommodate events of up to 12,000 people in a wide variety of potential
configurations. The project also includes:
- Opening the North building
entry
- Accessibility improvements to
the Plaza entry
- Enhanced speakers corner
- Stormwater improvements working
with Boston Water and Sewer Commission
- Flexible platform for various
sized performances
The
Shawmut Design and Construction's construction management process is
organized around three bid phases; Package #1 demolition of plaza brick and
granite; Package #2, geo structural modification; and Package #3, the
remainder of the scope of work, which will begin in August 2020 and
be completed in 20 months.
The
construction process will utilize COVID-19 work site safety protocols. The
main entrance of City Hall will remain open and the project site will be
fenced off.
For
additional information, visit the project web site Boston.gov/cityhallplaza
that includes a live webcam and project updates.
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