EastEast Construction NewsBest Projects2018

ENR New England's 2018 Best Projects: Milestones Mark Region’s Best Work

The CRRC MA project in Springfield, Mass. won a Best Project award in the manufacturing category.

*PHOTO COURTESY OF PLAZA CONSTRUCTION*

From Western Massachusetts to Rhode Island, ENR New England’s annual Best Projects competition highlights several firsts. CRRC MA, the Best Project in the manufacturing category, for example, brought manufacturing back to Springfield, Mass., for the first time in decades by building a rail car manufacturing plant. The West Springfield 8C Sub Station included a circuit breaker monitoring system that was the first application of its kind in the U.S. The project won a Best Projects award in the energy/industrial field.

In Eastern Massachusetts, the project team for the Savin Hill Apartments (award of merit for residential/hospitality) was the first to use a wood vibration decoupling clip invented in Massachusetts to mitigate noise, while EMD Serono (award of merit for interior design) was the first project in the country to receive WELL Gold certification for new and existing buildings.

These achievements only scratch the surface of the ingenuity displayed by the 27 winning project teams from across the region, which includes Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont.

Projects were evaluated by a panel of five professionals from across the region and industry. This year’s judges were Kyle Annutto, a project manager at MacKay Cos.; Kay Barned-Smith, a project manager at Connect Historic Boston, Boston Public Works Dept.; Jennifer Ducey, a senior associate at Stantec; and Thomas Lam, vice president at DiGiorgio Associates Inc., A LiRo Group Co. Project teams were judged on how well they contributed to the industry and community and overcame challenges. Judges had the option of selecting any number of Best Projects and award of merit honorees.

This year’s safety judge was Chris Ziegler, the director of safety for the Associated General Contractors of Massachusetts. He selected the Harvard University Gore Hall Complex as the Excellence in Safety winner. Aside from boasting a .34 lost time accident rate, the project team worked closely with Harvard officials and consultants to reach safety goals. They also provided free safety training sessions to subcontractors.

This year’s overall Project of the Year was the Phase IV—Gloucester Remedy Implementation. The multi-scope project helped clean up a contaminated industrial and commercial waterfront that is the oldest active harbor in the U.S.

Keep reading to learn more about all of this year’s winning projects.