J&M Brown Company completes electrical
construction at One Congress in Boston, MA

Boston, MA J&M Brown Company (JMB) has reached substantial completion of the complex core and shell electrical construction of One Congress, the centerpiece project in the city’s Bulfinch Crossing. 

Designed by internationally acclaimed architectural firms, Pelli Clarke Pelli and CBT Architects, and rising to 600 ft., the new, iconic 43-story, 1,006,500 s/f office tower is the tallest high-rise constructed in the city in more than 40 years. One Congress has received LEED Platinum certification.

J&M Brown’s comprehensive electrical project scope entailed installation of the building’s primary and emergency power systems, electrical distribution, interior and exterior lighting and lighting control systems, as well as the building’s fire alarm/life safety system. JMB also provided electrical infrastructure for the building’s A/V, security and tel/data systems. 

Primary power is provided via a 13.8KW/480V transformer and electrical distribution system. For emergency and standby power, the building is equipped with five rooftop generators: a 1,750KW generator for the base building and four 750KW generators for tenants.

JMB’s expansive electrical construction included the installation of 200,000 linear feet (more than 37 miles) of conduit and 500,000 linear feet (more than 94 miles) of wire. 

The building’s interior lighting package features more than 6,000 LED light fixtures and drivers, controlled by an advanced multiple-zone Lutron lighting control system. Exterior lighting at One Congress features customizable, color-changing facade uplighting.

At peak construction, J&M Brown managed a field crew ranging upwards of 50 IBEW Local 103 journeymen and apprentice electricians on the One Congress base building project. The NECA contractor’s crews worked more than 165,000 man-hours in meeting the scope and owner timeline requirements. The project commenced in November 2019 and project owners, Carr Properties and National Real Estate Advisors, took occupancy in May 2023. Constructed during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and despite stringent COVID-19 construction safety protocols and significant supply chain issues, JMB was able to meet the project timeline. 

The J&M Brown project team was headed by project manager Ed Zipper, project supervisors Wayne Lucas and Daryl Weiss, and foremen Mark Nicolas, Bill Patterson and Eamonn McDonagh. JMB worked in close coordination with the project’s general contractor, John Moriarty & Associates (JMA), based in Winchester, Mass. and the project’s cadre of skilled subcontractors. The HYM Group is the developer of One Congress.

In addition to its first-class office space, One Congress features a 15,000 s/f outdoor rooftop terrace and a full-floor amenity center on the 11^th floor comprised of a 7,000 s/f fitness center, event and conference space, and a full cafeteria.

JMB teams with JMA to concurrently complete 27-floor fit-out for State Street Corp. new headquarters at One Congress
One Congress is the new international headquarters facility for primary tenant, State Street Corp., which occupies 27 floors comprised of 450,000 s/f in the office tower. Concurrent to the core and shell electrical construction of One Congress and under separate contract, J&M Brown also is substantially complete with the electrical fit-out of the State Street offices.

The project electrical scope included installation of a separate electrical distribution riser backed up by two roof-mounted generators and an 800KW uninterruptible power supply system. 

The extensive lighting package for the State Street project included installation of 5,000 fixtures with the longest fixture run being 190 feet. The lighting control system provides control of 22 floors as well as integration with AV systems for conference rooms, training rooms and executive rooms. Custom lighting was provided for a state-of-the-art video studio.

The base building fire alarm integrates to all State Street offices and the project included installation of a fire suppression system for the full kitchen.

J&M Brown project manager Nelson Barrantes and general foreman Phil Talbot headed the project team, supervising a separate JMB crew of 45 IBEW Local 103 electricians at peak construction. The State Street office build-out commenced in June 2021 and the project was complete in May 2023. The phased-occupancy project allowed for State Street to take occupancy of 10 floors of the offices during the course of the fit-out. JMB was able to meet the fast-track schedule in the midst of pandemic-related supply chain issues.

State Street Corp. took full occupancy of their new headquarters in late spring 2023. The new office tower will accommodate at least 2,500 State Street employees. In total, the global financial leader employs approximately 8,000 workers in Massachusetts and 42,500 worldwide. State Street recently announced that starting this fall, all North American employees will come into the office four days per week, updating remote work policies that were in place during the pandemic. The company expects the new hybrid model to provide significant benefit of in-person collaboration for employees and clients.

Also at One Congress, J&M Brown, working with general contractor Structure Tone, recently completed a two-floor fit-out for law firm K&L Gates. And teaming with Elaine Construction, JMB is also underway with the two-phase, 13-floor, 250,000 s/f electrical fit-out for medical software and data management company InterSystems. Phase one, floors 32 - 36, will be completed in December 2023 and phase two, floors 37-43, is scheduled for completion in late 2024.