RESIDENTIAL TOWER AT BULFINCH CROSSING - THE SUDBURY

Bullfinch Crossing is the largest private redevelopment project ever in the historic downtown core of Boston. The first residential component is a $200 million tower called The Sudbury, now the tallest residential building in New England. Some of the unique features of the project created equally unique opportunities and challenges for hot-dip galvanizing.

The proven record of hot-dip galvanizing on high-rise structures gave confidence to the specifiers as did the strong track record of the fabricator and galvanizer for high quality on-time performance.

The Sudbury has a mixture of rental apartments and condos for purchase. It’s very enviable downtown location with immediate access to all forms of transportation made it logical that this tower cater to the very high-end of the real-estate market. Accordingly, the Sudbury has many appealing features, particularly on its roof, including pools, atriums, and lounges - all straddling between indoors and out. The majority of the more than 100 tons of “at-risk” steel that needed protection was here, as were the exposed mechanical equipment support structures.

Like many large cities the wheels of government turn slowly, and Boston is no exception, the approval process for this project was 10 years in the planning phase and then two years of construction. These delays created a very tight and unpredictable erection timetable which tested the capacity of both the fabricator and the galvanizer. Lack of on-site storage for steel at the downtown core site further challenged logistics. Thankfully the multiple high capacity galvanizing plants allowed for almost immediate turnaround despite extremely limited advance notice.

The complex fabrication of some sections made careful consultation between fabricator and galvanizer a must. Deep experience and attention to detail insured no technical problems would occur during the dipping process. Lastly, the information control software of the galvanizer insured every piece of steel was tracked, process parameters documented, and final identification and bundling was correct for seamless reception and erection at the construction site almost 500 feet above bustling Congress Street.

Despite all the technical and logistical challenges, the structural steel component including the galvanized sections were trouble free and on time thanks to the experience and capabilities of the players. This hallmark tower is the first major component of the Bulfinch Crossing project to be completed and the exemplary performance of hot-dip galvanizing in the construction phase bodes well for other larger towers planed in this amazing development project.

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