The Blog

NEWTON, MA/July 8, 2020 – Mark Development selected Erland Construction and Form + Place, Inc. to renovate 8,200 square feet of commercial space for The Barn Family Shoe Store in Newton, Mass. This is Mark Development’s second project with Erland.The Barn, a retail fixture since 1948, carries high-quality footwear and casual apparel for women, men, and children, has been named Best of Boston by Boston Magazine, and has won Wicked Local Media’s #1 Readers Choice Award. The Barn will be the first locally owned business with a lease at Washington Place.The updated retail space will be outfitted with new flooring, lighting, millwork, interior storefront vestibules, and a VRF HVAC system. In keeping with and expanding upon the layout of the previous location, the new store will have two bathrooms, a kitchenette, back office, and extensive storage space. The interior will also be painted.“We’re excited to have been selected to fit-out The Barn’s new space”, said Daryl Leland, Special Projects/Strategic Accounts Gro ...

BOSTON – July 7, 2020 – Kaplan Construction, a WBE general contractor and construction management firm providing comprehensive building programs across Greater Boston, announced today it has completed the interior renovations at Tremont on the Common, a full-service condominium property in the heart of Boston. Located at 151 Tremont Street adjacent to the Boston Common, the 28-story building features 374 residential condominium units and 2 commercial spaces. Designed by Visnick & Caulfield, the first phase of the project involved the renovation of a rear corridor to create a temporary entrance into the building while the main lobby was under construction. In the lobby, Kaplan installed a custom concierge desk, fabric ceiling panels, and custom stone flooring from quarries in Greece and Turkey. High-gloss wood panels on the walls modernize the lobby, which was last renovated in 1992. Kaplan worked closely with the design team and property management firm FirstService Residential to minimize the impact on tenan ...

One of the few bright spots amid the human tragedy and economic devastation of the COVID-19 pandemic has been the generosity and selflessness of member companies. Today we’d like to highlight Cruz Companies, a family-owned business and the largest minority-owned construction, real estate development and property management firm in the region.The company made over $10,000 in contributions to small businesses and organizations serving families across Greater Boston. Last month, Cruz recognized National Nurses Week by partnering with two local small businesses to donate 150 meals to Boston’s first responders and hospital staff. “With so many small businesses in crisis, we made sure to hire those still open for food, printing delivery for our Nurses Appreciation Week initiative,” said Cruz Companies President, John B. Cruz, III. In addition to showing appreciation for our frontline workers, I wanted to support to local nonprofits that are also stretching their services and resources.”The company also paid trib ...

Maynard, MA – JM Coull (JMC) has been recognized by the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) with its recent national Excellence in Construction Award. The firm obtained a Pyramid Award in the pre-engineered building category for the Collings Foundation’s American Heritage Museum, located in Hudson, MA. Earlier this year, JMC received an Excellence in Construction Eagle Award for the museum from the Massachusetts Chapter of ABC. The museum won in the special projects category. JMC teamed with ahp Architects, Boston Productions, Inc. (BPI), and Janiga Design on the $8.3 million design-build project. The awards ceremony, which was originally scheduled to take place during ABC’s March 2020, will be held in Nashville this fall.JMC President Andy Coull comments, “Being recognized for our achievements by ABC at both the national and local levels is an incredible feeling. This was a very unique and complex project that required complete buy-in from all team members, from our design team, to our subcontractors, ...

BEVERLY, Mass. – June 2, 2020 – Connolly Brothers, Inc., a construction management firm serving private commercial, industrial, and institutional clients, announced today that Jay Connolly was elected president and Thaddeus Minshall was named vice president of real estate and development. Stephen J. Connolly, IV has taken on a newly created role as advisor. In addition, the company is celebrating its 140th anniversary this year.Founded in 1880, Connolly Brothers is dedicated to providing quality, professional construction services to its commercial, industrial, and institutional clients. The company’s years of experience enable it to price and budget more accurately, manage more effectively, and add value at every stage in the construction process. In fact, year-in and year-out, over 70% of clients return to Connolly with plans for new construction projects.“I’m proud of the work we’ve completed over the past 49 years, and the relationships we’ve continued to build along the way while I have been involved wit ...

As construction projects reopen across Massachusetts, I’d like to take a moment to highlight some of the work our member companies have done to help their employees and communities during the pandemic.Groom Construction in Salem teamed up with Root, an organization that prepares young people to enter the workforce through intensive culinary and food service training, to provide over 400 free meals to agencies serving the homeless, youth in foster care and individuals with disabilities, among others. The meals were hand delivered to organizations all over the North Shore.In a statement, Lifebridge North Shore noted that they had been able “to provide meals to hundreds of vulnerable members of our community because of the partnership between Groom Construction and Root. To see this kind of generosity and thoughtfulness during these times is both touching and inspirational.”The Haynes Group of West Bridgewater supported the Red Cross’ blood drive efforts though its #HaynesGroupCares initiative. The company al ...

N. Billerica, MA – May 15, 2020 – Tecta America New England’s Portland crew donates labor for roofing installation on Portland Ronald McDonald House AdditionTecta America New England’s Portland, ME crew recently donated the labor to install a commercial roof onto the new Portland Ronald McDonald House (RMH) addition. When the addition to the 1856 Greek Revival building is complete it will provide 15 additional guest rooms, 2 kitchens, a laundry room, more common areas and dining space, and more outdoor space for guests to enjoy. Working in collaboration with Peter Horch Roofing, Portland team members Tavis Williams, Ryan Benson, Ed Tracy, Perry Allen, Norm Gosselin, Dean Baker, Ethan Owens, Ray Williams, Vinnie Martorano, Mark Drummond and Kevin Howe helped make RMH bigger, better, and able to help even more families whose children are being treated at area hospitals. Project Manager Mark Drummond said, “It was rewarding to help make the Ronald McDonald House larger so it can help more families while their ch ...

Salem, MA, May 18, 2020…Groom Construction has teamed up with Root to provide emergency meals for area organizations during the COVID-19 pandemic. In their Salem headquarters and professional kitchen, Root alumni and staff are preparing meals, funded by Groom, for agencies serving the homeless, youth in foster care, formerly homeless youth, and individuals with disabilities. These organizations include Lifebridge North Shore, Northeast ARC, Plummer Youth Promise, North Shore Community Development Coalition and the YMCA Grace Child Development Center. Groom first approached Root in early April to ask if they would prepare a dinner for clients at Lifebridge North Shore, a Salem-based homeless shelter. “By using Root to prepare the meal, we were helping two essential organizations that are serving those in distress during this time,” said Dave Groom, Principal of Groom Construction. “The initial meal went so well that we asked Root if they could do more.”This partnership has allowed Root to provide over 420 nutr ...

BEVERLY, Mass. – May 6, 2020 – Connolly Brothers Inc, a general contractor and construction management firm, announced the completion of the new $16 million corporate headquarters for Harmonic Drive LLC, a manufacturer of gearheads, gear component sets, and servo actuators. Connolly Brothers provided pre-construction, design and engineering, and construction management services for the new 97,000 SF office and manufacturing plant situated on a previously undeveloped six-acre site in the Dunham Ridge Business Park in Beverly, Mass. Founded in Beverly in 1960, Harmonic Drive relocated from two buildings in Peabody to its new U.S. headquarters. “We are excited to be back in Beverly where it all started,” said Doug Olson, CEO at Harmonic Drive. “Connolly Brothers was the perfect fit for our project given their 140-year history in Beverly and their proximity to and experience with designing and building advanced technology facilities like ours. They were able to meet our stringent budget and schedule restraints, a ...

BOSTON – May 5, 2020 – Kaplan Construction, a WBE general contractor and construction management firm providing comprehensive building programs across Greater Boston, announced today that it has been selected to fit out a 40,000 SF early childhood center and headquarters for Horizons for Homeless Children, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of young homeless children and their families. Construction is expected to start later this spring and be completed in early 2021. Located at 1785 Columbus Avenue in Roxbury, Massachusetts and designed by studioMLA Architects, the new early childhood center will consolidate three existing centers into one. Serving 225 children ranging in age from two months to five years, it will include a STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math) activity space, a family library and literacy center, flexible community and training space, and an art room. Indoor and outdoor spaces will incorporate trauma-informed design strategies to better serve childr ...