The Graphic is a two-building residential development for Berkeley Investments in Charlestown, MA. The first building is a 100-year-old, former print manufacturing facility that will be re-adapted into 45 new residential apartments. The building is a three-story brick masonry structure with a full below grade basement which required a substantial amount of asbestos abatement and sandblasting for lead paint removal. The ongoing work to the exterior requires extensive masonry restoration of the existing brick, precast concrete window headers, and sills and is approximately 80% complete. The interior requires two new CMU stair towers, two new CMU elevator shafts, and various structural infills of existing openings. The new elevator pits require the underpinning of existing concrete columns and this work is about 50% complete.

The second building onsite was a one-story printing warehouse that also required asbestos abatement prior to complete building demolition. A four-story modular residential apartment building will take its place with a structural steel podium slab on deck with open parking below with a 155 car capacity. The modular units are being constructed in Quebec, Canada by RCM, and are currently into shop drawings; we are expecting the delivery and staging of units to be in February and erection to start in March.

Paul Powers