J&M Brown Co. underway with electrical construction at The BEAT

Dorchester, MA  J&M Brown Company, Inc. (JMB) is underway with the core and shell electrical construction of The BEAT, the former headquarters of the Boston Globe at 135 Morissey Blvd.

The Nordblom Company’s redevelopment project will transform the 695,000 s/f building into an “urban innovation campus,” as the existing three-story office and industrial building will be retrofit to incorporate 360,000 s/f of office space and 300,000 s/f of flex/light industrial space, customized to accommodate, and spur innovation in such fields as robotics, life science, and high tech manufacturing.  The project will also include a 10,000 s/f fitness center, a brewery and a 100-seat restaurant.  Integral to the building’s design is a new multi-story atrium that will be constructed at The BEAT’s entrance, creating a central gathering area, complete with a food hall and collaborative meeting and gathering spaces.

Project team includes architect Stantec and general contractor Moriarty.

The comprehensive electrical scope includes demolition of the building’s normal and emergency electrical distribution system and the installation of new primary and emergency power.  JMB will also furnish and install a new 15kV electrical service, a 480 Volt normal electrical distribution system and a 480 Volt emergency distribution system.  The NECA Boston contractor will also install The BEAT’s lighting and lighting control systems as well as the building’s new Autocall fire alarm system.

J&M Brown’s vice president Bryan Greene, project manager Mike Booker and general foreman Phil Talbot are heading the project team, supervising a field crew expected to range upwards of 40 IBEW Local 103 electricians at peak construction.  The project is targeting completion in the summer of 2020.

The project name, “The BEAT,” an acronym for The Boston Exchange for Accelerated Technology, also pays tribute to the reporters that worked at the Globe headquarters location for more than 60 years.

rendering credit Stantec and Nordblom Co.