Aloft and Element Hotels

South Boston, MA
Key Elements
  • Stormwater treatment and recharge 
  • Roadway design 
  • Boston permitting 

The Aloft and Element Hotels bring 500 hotel rooms, 26,300 square feet of ground-floor retail, and 1,350 garage parking spaces to D Street, directly across the street from the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. The new construction included two new hotel buildings, new service driveways, public sidewalk reconstruction, stormwater treatment and recharge, and new utility services. All improvements were designed, permitted, and constructed in two development packages. 

Nitsch designed site and sidewalk layout and grading, utilities (e.g., sewer, water, and drainage), and stormwater management systems for the projects. We also provided permitting services for the Boston Planning and Development Agency Notice of Project Change, United States Environmental Protection Agency National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit for stormwater discharges, Boston Public Works Department, Public Improvements Commission, and Boston Water and Sewer Commission. 

We provided roadway design including new pavement markings and signage for the adjacent roadways to support the new developments. This included new crosswalks, roadway pavement markings, stop lines, unsignalized intersections, and parking lot space delineation design.  

Key Collaborators

Owner: Commonwealth Ventures, Massachusetts Convention Center Authority (MCCA) 
Architect: Elkus Manfredi Architects 
Landscape Architect: Sasaki Associates 
Geotechnical Engineer: Haley & Aldrich