Beals and Thomas opens new Boston office, hires Heidelberg

Boston, MA Beals and Thomas, Inc. (B+T) has expanded to Boston with its third office at 295 Devonshire St. The new downtown location will support the firm’s growing operations and projects in Boston and Cambridge including mixed-use projects Cambridge Crossing, Suffolk Downs and the Harvard Sq. Theatre. To further strengthen its presence, B+T has added a new manager of urban development services and is launching a new website.

“We’ve never had a greater need for a Boston office. The building activity in and around the city has increased the demand for our urban and technical services,” said Gerry Preble, PE, LSP, president of B+T. “We can better accommodate both our clients and staff working on local projects, and the prime location gives us more visibility for future opportunities. We have become more involved in the community and are in a position to attract highly qualified talent.”

The Boston office will host client engagements and industry meetings, plus house staff conducting research, design, permitting and survey services. It is a two-minute walk from Downtown Crossing and convenient to public transportation. Along with the new office space, B+T will launch a new website this summer that demonstrates its solution-oriented capabilities and technical services.

B+T is involved in numerous projects across New England that balance client goals with environmentally responsible development. Local projects include:

Cambridge Crossing. Since 2010, B+T has provided permitting, design and construction administration services for the core infrastructure of the 5.2 million s/f mixed-use development in Cambridge, Somerville, and Boston. The work includes design and construction administration for stormwater management, sewerage, and water distribution systems. Most recently, B+T provided land surveying, civil engineering, permitting assistance, and construction administration services for the 430,000 s/f office, retail, and lab complex at 250 North St. In 2020, health technology company Royal Philips will move its North American headquarters to the complex.

Suffolk Downs. The 161-acre property in Revere and East Boston is being transformed into a mixed-use development with new housing units, retail, office, lab and hotel space. The project includes 40-acres of publicly accessible open space that integrates on-site wetlands and waterways, plus a common area, amphitheater, plazas, parks, paths and other recreational amenities.

Harvard Square Theatre. B+T was recently engaged to provide land surveying and civil engineering services to assist in the proposed redevelopment of the Cambridge movie theater, which will include a 9,000 s/f movie theater with two screens, 5,000 s/f of ground floor retail and 36,000 s/f of upper floor offices. The exterior façade will be embedded with technology to display changeable art or photography.

Jeff Heidelberg, PE, LEED AP has joined B+T as manager of urban development services. He is responsible for managing resources, project teams and schedules to address the design and permitting acquisition for complex land use projects in Boston and the surrounding communities. Most recently, he was responsible for the design, permitting and management of Arsenal Yards in Watertown, a redevelopment of the Arsenal Mall to a stylized urban village.