Health Care

Massachusetts General Hospital, Yawkey Center for Outpatient Care
Location: Boston, MA
Client: Cambridge Seven Associates

Nitsch Engineering designed the site improvements and utility relocations for the new 400,000-square-foot outpatient care center, green roof, and 700-car underground parking garage at the Massachusetts General Hospital.  The Yawkey Center was partially constructed on top of the Northeast Proton Therapy Center, which posed significant site challenges associated with in-ground radiation protection zones.  Nitsch Engineering designed utility service corridors on this congested site including thermal systems; electric, telecommunications, water, and fire protection systems; and sanitary sewerage and storm drainage systems.  We also provided permitting services for the Boston Redevelopment Authority’s Article 80 process, MA Department of Environmental Protection’s Sewer Connection permits, Boston Water and Sewer Commission permits, and the City of Boston Public Improvement Commission approvals.  The design team for this project received an “Honor Award for Design Excellence” from AIA New England.

South End Community Health Center
Location: Boston, MA
Client: Schochet Associates

Nitsch Engineering provided civil engineering and permitting services for development of the state-of-the-art South End Community Health Center, a non-profit primary and managed-care facility that provides health care and social services. The main building, located on Washington Street, consolidates clinical services and support space into the first three floors of the new six-story building, and contains 39 ADA-accessible condominiums on the upper three floors.  The building also includes separate ambulatory facilities, 118 underground parking spaces, street-level retail space, and community gardens.  The project also included 17 residential condominiums at the rear of the site along Cumston Street.  By working closely with the owners to meet their changing needs, Nitsch Engineering helped keep the project on schedule.  We designed the site grading and utilities to fit within a narrow right-of-way and redesigned Cumston Street.  We prepared City of Boston Public Improvement Commission plans for street widening, relocation, and vertical discontinuance; a Boston Water and Sewer Commission Site Plan; and a Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection Sewer Connection Permit.  Nitsch Engineering also provided construction administration services.

Nitsch Engineering provided civil/site engineering services for the new J. Joseph Moakley Building, a consolidated cancer care center at Boston Medical Center (BMC). The building reinforces BMC’s mission to provide consistently accessible health services to all, and includes clinical, research, and teaching facilities.  Nitsch Engineering was responsible for coordinating the design of utility relocations for building construction, new utility service connections, and parking lot layout and grading with the design team, Boston Medical Center, and the City of Boston. We were responsible for the Boston Water and Sewer Commission Site Plan Application, as well as coordinating with the Boston Public Works Department for the new curb cuts necessary for access. Nitsch Engineering also provided construction administration services.

Eventide Nursing Home Addition
Location: Quincy, MA
Client: William B. Rice Eventide Home

Responding to an increase in demand for beds, this nursing home selected Nitsch Engineering to do the site design for an addition. Because the site was located within the 100-year floodplain, which included the Furnace Brook floodway, and abutted the historic Quincy Adams House and MDC land, permitting and designing such an addition would be challenging. For permit approvals from the Zoning Board of Appeals and the Conservation Commission, Nitsch Engineering conducted research at FEMA to detail the floodplain and floodway; using that information, we balanced site grading and designed the site to accommodate an addition that posed no adverse impacts to those areas. FEMA reviewed our plans and confirmed that our depictions of the floodway and floodplain were correct. Another potentially challenging part of the project was in designing the site sewer. The existing sewer line, located directly below the addition, was too high and had to be lowered. Nitsch Engineering had to design the connections so that the nursing home could maintain their sewer connection during construction.