DCAMM, SLAM and Gilbane team up to re-occupy Newton Pavilion for temporary quarantine of homeless during COVID-19

Boston, MA The S/L/A/M Collaborative, Boston Studio (SLAM) and Gilbane Building Company (Gilbane), in partnership with the Massachusetts Division of Capital Asset Management & Maintenance (DCAMM), Boston Medical Center (BMC), Boston Healthcare for the Homeless, the Department of Public Health, led the technical planning, design and construction of a temporary quarantine shelter in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The facility has a maximum capacity of up to 304 non-acute beds for Boston-area homeless at the former Newton Pavilion previously managed by Boston Medical Center at 88 E. Newton St.
 
The Newton Pavilion has been a shuttered hospital facility since October 29, 2018.  SLAM and Gilbane were contracted by the current building owner, DCAMM, to assist them in assessing the building and devising an occupancy plan to convert the space for homeless patients who are not in need of acute hospitalization, yet test positive for the coronavirus, but are a-symptomatic or showing mild symptoms with orders to quarantine at home.
 
The coordination and focused effort to ready the Newton Pavilion for occupancy on April 9, 2020, required full-day meetings over a 28-day period held between DCAMM, BMC, Gilbane, and the SLAM design team, led by Senior Associate Loren Belida, AIA and Gilbane’s Senior Project Executive Jim Dabrowski. Following the Army Corps of Engineers review and swift approval of the occupancy plan demonstrating SLAM’s technical expertise and in-depth work in healthcare programming and planning, Gilbane was able to rapidly mobilize on-site and deliver the facility ahead of schedule.
 
“DCAMM was ahead of the curve when asked what it would take to temporarily re-open the “mothballed” facility” said Carol Gladstone, DCAMM commissioner, “The project team quickly developed a very comprehensive and integrated execution plan that involved splitting construction scope between our internal team and Gilbane. I had extremely high confidence that we could rise to the challenge and deliver in a short timeframe.”
 
BMC will manage operations for the temporary facility and patient care will be administered by their clinical staff. The total re-occupied project area makes up approximately 166,500 s/f, spanning eight floors and the overall project scope includes the reactivation/upgrade to building systems including life safety, HVAC, fire protection, plumbing, fire protection, medical gasses, electrical and architectural upgrades.
 
“Gilbane is grateful for the opportunity to work on this critical project delivered by this incredibly dedicated team. Our team and subcontractor partners worked three shifts, working literally 24 hours a day to deliver this much-needed facility ahead of schedule. We’re honored to be of service to the Commonwealth and its citizens at this time of great need”, said Mike O’Brien, vice president, Massachusetts business unit leader.
 
SLAM and Gilbane have partnered on more than 40 projects throughout New England and across the country.??“The project team understood from day one that reinvigorating the space and systems of a “mothballed” hospital would require expertise, proactivity, coordination, and flexibility,” says Gabriel Comstock, AIA, lead healthcare planner and design architect, SLAM Boston Studio. “From the Commonwealth to the subcontractors, I’ve never seen a purer example of unyielding technical collaboration and speed to serve the most vulnerable populations at a more critical time in our community.”
 
About SLAM?The S/L/A/M Collaborative (SLAM) is a national, multi-disciplinary design firm offering architecture, planning, interior design, landscape architecture, site planning, structural engineering, and pre-construction, with S/L/A/M Construction Services offered throughout the New England region.  Our market focus is on higher education, K-12 public/private education, healthcare, corporate, justice, sports and recreation sectors. In 2020, SLAM launched a new brand that underscores our infinite drive to unlock and solve complex design problems, rendering creativity in design to enrich lives. SLAM has offices in Atlanta, GA, Boston, MA, Denver, CO, Glastonbury, CT, Iowa City, IA, Los Angeles, CA, New York, NY, Orlando FL and Philadelphia, PA.
 
About Gilbane Building Company
Gilbane has served as a leading construction manager in Massachusetts since 1946, serving private and public clients throughout the Commonwealth, including the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, South Shore Hospital, Boston Public Schools, UMass Boston, Wentworth Institute of Technology, Google, Northeastern University, PTC and The Boston Red Sox.
 
About DCAMM
The Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance (DCAMM), an agency within the Executive Office for Administration and Finance (A&F,) is responsible for capital planning, major public building construction, facilities management, and real estate services for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The agency was created by the legislature in 1980 to promote quality and integrity in the management and construction of the Commonwealth’s capital facilities and real estate assets. DCAMM oversees the Commonwealth’s capital assets, totaling over 75 million square feet. The agency manages over $2 billion in capital projects, working with state agencies on the full cycle of their strategic facility needs. DCAMM directly manages 5.5 million square feet of state buildings, and for those buildings not managed by DCAMM, we assist our client agencies using comprehensive and cost-effective maintenance and management strategies and standards. DCAMM is also responsible for all state real estate activities, including acquisition of property, disposition of surplus property and the leasing of space on behalf of state agencies, for offices and other facilities.

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