What We Build

We bring great depth in our construction experience, creativity and care to build the infrastructure that every community relies on: hospitals, community health organizations, the commercial enterprises that form our local economies, and the academic and non-profit centers that provide educational, social and cultural services.

• 3M/Venture Tape, Warehouse Additions, Rockland, MA

  This 80,000 SF warehouse and manufacturing facility expansion was completed as a design-build project on a 9-month schedule to allow the Venture Tape team to use the much needed product storage and office space as fast as possible. The building accommodates approximately 40,000 SF of 30 foot high rack storage, 20,000 SF for heavy manufacturing, 10,000 SF for light manufacturing and 10,000 SF of office space. The site restrictions required a complex design for foundations and structural steel, including storage racks to be built on the second floor. The addition was built to match Venture’s existing facility, and designed to accommodate for future growth.

  Construction service highlights:

  • Managing construction on a fast-track 9-month schedule
  • A thorough and flexible site specific plan that allowed uninterrupted construction activities, but ensured staff safety and access at all times. There was no loss in facility function and revenue during the project.
  • Working around the unique structural considerations required by Venture Tape’s heavy equipment
  • Seamlessly integrating the design and construction onto the existing facility

   

  Project managed by Rubicon staff, while with a previous firm.

• Bates College, Dining Commons, Lewiston, ME

  To upgrade Bates’ food service facilities— while continuing to provide students with a central location for campus dining— Bates built the LEED-Silver certified “Commons”, a 60,000 SF dining hall that includes seating for over 950 students, as well as multiple server stations and a high-end commercial kitchen. As part of the larger project, the construction management team performed upgrades to several surrounding campus steam lines, and constructed a new 1,200-foot paver walkway and accompanying retaining walls. Sustainable construction included the use of recycled materials, light sensors, and heat recovery systems bring the facility to LEED Silver standards.

  • Concurrent management of three distinct projects: dining hall construction, steam system upgrades, and 1,200-ft. walkway
  • Multi-phased project with and aggressive schedule that required ongoing consideration to ongoing operations and student and staff safety and accessibility
  • Highly involved, specialized kitchen equipment package designated by owner

   

  Project managed by Rubicon staff, while with a previous firm.
  

• Cape Cod Hospital, Mugar Patient Bed Tower, Hyannis, MA

  This project was the single largest and most complex project ever undertaken by Cape Cod Hospital in their nearly 100 year history. It involved the demolition of multiple small structures on their campus as well as the relocation and upgrade of many of the main utility services to the campus. The project was a $35 million, 6-story, 220,000 SF patient bed tower constructed in the heart of the campus and tied into several existing buildings. The 1st floor was a new dining complex and executive conference suites. The five floors above were private patient rooms and a mechanical penthouse.

  Construction service highlights:

  • Full pre-construction service budget analysis and value/design management to identify various exterior skin systems. The challenge was design a skin that could meet the performance required of a building that is located on the ocean’s edge while still maintaining budget requirements.
  • An extensive site-specific construction plan was developed during preconstruction. There were several months of schedule dedicated to the relocation and upgrade of multiple civil utilities and building services with no interruption to patient services prior to a foundation ever being constructed.
  • During the preconstruction borings, it was discovered that there was significant oil contamination from defunct underground oil tanks that leaked for dozen of years. We were able to remediate and repurpose the soils to a local asphalt plant and still maintain schedule.
  • As the hospital is within a ½ mile of the airport, there was constant coordination with the Federal Aviation Administration and local officials. The cranes and the final structure presented an air space obstruction that required temporary and permanent changes in flight patterns.
  • A few unique facts that still hold true today about the construction and building are; it is the tallest structure on Cape Cod. The largest cranes ever to be used on the Cape were used on this project.

   

  Project managed by Rubicon staff, while with a previous firm.
  

• Cape Cod Hospital, Open Heart Center, Hyannis, MA

  The client was one of a small number of hospitals statewide to be awarded a Determination of Need (D.O.N.) for this new program. It was essential to their business model that their program be the first to open. The CM and architect team were brought together and worked nearly around the clock on the design documents and completed them in under eight weeks. The project involved dozens of phases in multiple locations within the hospital that totaled close to 20,000 SF. The program required the new operating room suites themselves along with a new post-surgery floor and multiple other departments like CSPD to upgrade their services to support this new program.

  Construction service highlights:

  • Full pre-construction services were provided. The focus was on a hyper accelerated design schedule that would allow construction to begin within four weeks on some phases while design was still being developed for the balance of the project.
  • At the core of the project were the two new state of the art operating rooms and their sterile support service areas. These were constructed in the heart of the existing operating room suite while surgeries were being performed literally on the other side of construction partitions. Patient and staff safety along with critical Infection Control Risk Assessment (ICRA) measures were of the single highest concern by the team. All methodologies and decisions were measured by the impact it may have on them. The CM team hired an independent industrial hygienist to assist in the design and daily monitoring of the HEPA filtered negative air systems required for multiple concurrent phases.
  • During additional programming sessions after the design was complete, it was discovered that the existing patient elevator cars were not of sufficient size to transport the patient, staff and medical equipment from the Operating Rooms on the ground floor to the post-surgery suite on the upper floor. The CM, design team and elevator vendor released the long lead time elevator equipment and then designed the new elevator shaft required up through several floors. Additional CM and sub-contractor resources were brought in and worked seven days a week to complete this additional project scope on the same date as the base project that was well on its way toward completion.

   

  Project managed by Rubicon staff, while with a previous firm.
  

• Community of Jesus, The Chapter & Paraclete House, Orleans, MA

  The Community of Jesus is a unique, warm Christian community built on the banks of Cape Cod Bay alongside the docks of Rock Harbor, Orleans. These two buildings were part of a series of legacy buildings designed by William Rawn Associates. The construction of the complex spanned nearly a decade with many of the buildings designed and constructed to stand 300 years plus. This project is most unique due the distinctive materials and craftsmen that were procured and brought in from all over the world. It brought with it great scheduling challenges in the thoughtful and patient coordination of resources from so many international vendors. There was significant time spent on adapting these materials to meet the building codes rigorous weather conditions and yet maintain their intrinsic charm and natural beauty.

  Construction service highlights:

  • Full pre-construction services were provided. The service focus was unique in that all decisions were based upon two constants. First the buildings were constructed to be nearly maintenance free and stand for hundreds of years to come. The second more important to the client was that all the buildings be an awe inspiring art offering to God.
  • As the buildings were within a few hundred yards of Cape Cod Bay and sat just a few feet above sea level, hydrostatic pressure was a constant concern. The building foundations were often 10 to 20 feet below sea level. Excavation holes required steel sheeting to be driven around them with 24 hour pumps operating and pumping the discharged seawater through filtration containments. Each of the foundations required the most technically installed waterproofing system in the industry.
  • Many of the buildings components were designed around the sculpted stonework and artwork pieces that would adorn the walls. We worked hand in hand with these international artists to best support their work structurally with one-of-a-kind industry attachment methods.
  • A few unique facts about the construction and buildings are; the slab for the Paraclete house was over 4 feet thick and totaled over 1,000 cubic yards of concrete. It was placed in a single day and required over 100 concrete trucks to be used. The main church building walls are lined with a ribbon of fresco paintings that were painted over a period of years. The creating of a fresco painting is extremely sensitive to atmospheric conditions. Each fall there was a short window of weeks that conditions were ideal for painting. An artist would come in from Europe and work with community members to create a few of the dozen panels utilizing over 100 year old slake (plaster) in their work.

   

  Project managed by Rubicon staff, while with a previous firm.
  

• Massachusetts Biomedical Initiatives, Worcester, MA

  As part of a multi-project partnership with Massachusetts Biomedical Initiatives (MBI)— a company that provides incubator space for startup biotech firms—the construction management team completed this fast-track 22,000 SF lab fit-out to provide MBI with improved research space. The laboratories occupy the first floor of the former St. Vincent’s Hospital campus, which was repurposed following the opening of the Medical City complex. To support MBI’s research needs, a variety of new systems were installed, including new fume hoods, reconfiguration of existing mechanical ductwork, piping for medical gases, and a reverse osmosis deionized (RODI) water purification system.

  • Lab renovations within an occupied research building
  • Reconfiguration of existing space into medical-grade labs
  • Installing new M/E/P systems into existing framework

   

  Project managed by Rubicon staff, while with a previous firm.

• MetroWest YMCA, Summer Day Camp Lodge, Hopkinton, MA

  The Metrowest YMCA needed a recreation lodge to provide new summer day camp opportunities and rainy day space for campers.  Completed in just seven months as a design-build project, the 7,000 SF lodge was designed and built with architects Gorman Richardson. The team provided pre-construction and construction management services, and worked within the non-profit organization’s budget, to construct this new summer base on their 116-acre wooded site in Hopkinton. Among the project’s approaches to support the client’s fast track schedule, the site and foundation work was expedited so the building could be constructed during the winter months—and to guarantee the lodge’s opening in time for the next summer’s campers.

  Construction service highlights:

  • Installation of pre-engineered timber framing and insulated roofing system contributed to improving the schedule while meeting the aesthetic goals of the project.
  • Keeping the project within budget was paramount and part of all decisions. The CM team was able to better the initial budgets through buyout and work activity efficiencies.

   

  Project managed by Rubicon staff, while with a previous firm.

• Southcoast Health Systems, Charlton Oncology Center, Fall River, MA

  This was a fast track project that was completed under a hybrid design-build approach. There were many challenges that the team was confronted with as the building was vintage and was originally constructed as a school gymnasium. The scope included a partial demolition of the existing building, significant structural improvements to what remained and a ground up addition of the new radiation oncology vault. These were compounded by an extremely aggressive eight month schedule and occupancy dates that needed to be met to comply with the D.O.N date commitments. Included in the MEP infrastructure was the installation of new buildings main electrical feeds that were installed underground from the opposite side of the campus to the new building.

  Construction service highlights:

  • Full pre-construction services were provided. The focus was on accelerated structural and MEP design so long lead time equipment and material could be released to meet the critical path dates.
  • Linear accelerator vaults can be constructed with a few various systems. The most cost effective is cast in place concrete if the site allows for it. This is what the team selected for this project, but it does require more man days to complete. As we had an accelerated schedule, the decision was made to construct the vault with high early concrete to reduce set time and allow forms to be stripped in days rather than weeks.
  • The installation and calibration of a linear accelerator requires approximately three months of time. This in turn required the vault and control room to be 100% complete in five months to accept delivery of the equipment. Beyond the vault itself, other significant building components that had to be in place for the startup of the accelerator was the new HVAC and electrical building infrastructure systems.

   

  Project managed by Rubicon staff, while with a previous firm.

• The Greater Boston Food Bank, Yawkey Distribution Center, Boston, MA

  This LEED Silver-certified warehouse and distribution facility accommodates 40 million pounds of food, doubling the capacity of this major non-profit, community food agency. Distributing food to over 550 hunger relief agencies each year, the new 117,000 SF center is built on an extremely tight urban area along the edge of Boston’s I-93 highway, the transformation of a former brownfield incinerator site.

  Construction service highlights:
  

  • Pre-construction service budget analysis and value management to identify affordable sustainability initiatives to maintain LEED certification goal.
  • Full abatement of the hazardous material-ridden brownfield site, while maintaining budget and schedule, saving the client $1 million.
  • Careful coordination of site and delivery logistics to minimize disruption to the surrounding neighborhood.
  • Construction of sustainable energy features: energy-efficient refrigeration system, heat-generating passive solar wall, high R-insulated roof system, and a light monitor that reduces light and heating costs.

   

  Project managed by Rubicon staff, while with a previous firm.

• Timothy Daniels House, Skilled Nursing Center, Holliston, MA

  For the new Timothy Daniels House—the expansion and renovation of the former Holliston Manor Nursing Home— a number of new areas and services were added or upgraded, including: new kitchen facility, full electrical and HVAC upgrade, special care room, offices, dining/activity room, new ADA compliant elevator, and a new laundry facility. The project entailed the addition of a two and a half story steel framed building, which doubles the existing facility’s square footage to 16,000 SF. The construction management team provided pre-construction and construction services.

  Project managed by Rubicon staff, while with a previous firm.
  

• UniBank for Savings, Operations Center, Whitinsville, MA

  The rapid growth of UniBank— a Massachusetts-based regional bank serving the Greater Blackstone Valley and Worcester area— prompted the need for new administrative and support space to supplement their main offices in Whitinsville. Delivered as a design-build project in only 15 months, the new 46,000 SF Operations Center is a two-story addition to the existing building. The project—created in the collaboration with architects Gorman Richardson—included the reorganization and expansion of the overall site, and incorporates work space for approximately 50 employees, allowing for expanded technology and personnel growth.
  

  Construction service highlights:

  • Construction of an addition to a working bank, completed without disruption to clients, staff and banking operations
  • Successful design-build project, completed within the client’s fixed budget and scheduling goals

   

  Project managed by Rubicon staff, while with a previous firm.

• Wat Nawamintarachutis NMR Meditation Center, Raynham, MA

  This Thai Buddhist temple and cultural center is a gift from an anonymous donor to honor King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand who, born in Cambridge while his father was attending Harvard Medical School, has roots in the region. The four-story temple is crowned by a soaring “Chedi”, the traditional steeple-like tower that sits atop Thai Buddhist Temples.  The center includes worship space for 700 people, community rooms, lodging for monks and visitors, the monk’s flower and vegetable gardens, and a museum dedicated to the king and his family.

  Construction service highlights:

  • Careful planning and construction of a large project in a small suburban neighborhood to minimize its effect on the community
  • Coordination of the installation of custom finishes and art constructed in Thailand; and the work of Thai craftsmen
  • Managing the delivery and structural attachments of a 5.5-ton Buddha statue into the steel framed building after completion

   

  Project managed by Rubicon staff, while with a previous firm.