Sustainable

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts
Location: North Quincy, MA
Client: Margulies & Associates, Inc.

To consolidate its Quincy staff into one office, Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) of Massachusetts purchased the Solomon Willard Building on the Neponset River. The 16.5-acre site included a seven-story, 801,000-gross-square-foot office building and a 1,200-space parking garage. Ultimately, the building was completely renovated and the site’s infrastructure was rebuilt and enhanced to meet the requirements of BCBS’s operation.  Nitsch Engineering performed due diligence research of the site and property, provided topographic and property line surveys, prepared construction documents, and obtained state environmental permitting approvals under the MA Wetland Protection Act.  The project achieved LEED® Certification.

Nitsch Engineering provided land surveying and civil engineering services for the development of Harvard University’s new Northwest Science Building, a LEED®-Registered facility. The 450,000-square-foot building will primarily provide state-of-the-art laboratory space, but will also include office space, classrooms, seminar rooms, collection space, teaching laboratories, an underground garage, as well as a new chilled water plant and electrical substation.

Nitsch Engineering provided land surveying services for the new facility, including performing property line retracement and topographic mapping surveys. The survey also included accurate locations of existing on-site buildings, horizontal and vertical locations of sub-surface tunnels, compilation of record utility information, creation of easement plans for new utilities, update of on-site conditions through initial construction of the garage, and set-up of control for slurry wall construction. Our civil engineering services involved designing new utility connections, such as sewer, water, and drainage systems. We also evaluated stormwater management strategies, including site sustainability measures to support the development of the project, and developed a stormwater retention system that complies with the City of Cambridge regulations. We are currently providing construction administration services.

U.Va. Meadow Creek Regional Stormwater Management Plan
Location: Charlottesville, VA
Client: University of Virginia

Nitsch Engineering performed an area-wide hydrological assessment of existing and proposed conditions for the entire West Side of the University. We evaluated the overall cumulative impacts from the proposed development at the University within the watershed of Meadow Creek, and prepared hydrologic models using SCS TR-20-based analysis models. This study resulted in a set of implementable recommendations regarding sustainable stormwater management for development projects and state regulators to use to monitor growth in the watershed. Our recommendations included creative stormwater management solutions in the entire 850-acre watershed, such as streambank/floodway restoration, created wetlands, and “green” Best Management Practice solutions to restore the degraded environment of Meadow Creek. Individual site development projects no longer need their own stormwater management systems; instead, they reap the benefit of the three “regional” facilities installed across the campus (which are described below). Our work for the University was awarded the 2007 Engineering Excellence Grand Conceptor Award by ACEC/MA.

The Dell is one of the three regional stormwater mitigation sites identified in the Meadow Creek Regional Stormwater Management Plan. The “green” stormwater solutions include the daylighting of 1,100 lineal feet of new streambank, creating wetlands, and creating a new landscape feature pond. A sediment forebay, biofiltration islands, and vegetated filters also provide a “green” environment to the stressed stream system known as Meadow Creek. These stormwater management measures fulfill the obligations of U.Va. under its regional stormwater management plan to mitigate for dozens of developments within the entire Meadow Creek watershed.

Nitsch Engineering performed detailed hydrologic and hydraulic analyses and prepared preliminary stormwater management designs for this 1,200-car parking structure located at the second of three regional stormwater mitigation sites. A curving rock wall lines the main entranceway on Ivy Road, and a stream flows through stands of trees and a native-grass and wildflower meadow between the garage and Ivy Road. The stream is part of a cutting-edge regional stormwater management system that also includes a detention basin to hold backed-up water during heavy downpours, then gradually releases it as the rain slackens. Other storm-water solutions included streambank/floodway relocation, created wetlands and ponds, and Best Management Practice solutions to restore a “green” environment to the stressed Meadow Creek system.

Nitsch Engineering performed detailed hydrologic and hydraulic analyses and prepared stormwater management designs for this 15,000-seat multi-purpose arena project, located at the third regional stormwater mitigation site on the U.Va. campus. These stormwater solutions include streambank/floodway restoration, created wetlands and ponds, biofiltration islands, vegetated filters, and other Best Management Practice solutions to restore a green environment to the stressed stream system known as Meadow Creek.

Renaissance Boston Waterfront Marriott
Location: Boston, MA
Client: The Stubbins Associates

Nitsch Engineering provided land surveying and civil/site engineering services for the Renaissance Boston Waterfront Marriott, a LEED® Registered, $100-million hotel development project located on Parcel F2.  We performed existing conditions, title insurance, property line, utility, easement, topographic, construction, and FAA surveys. Nitsch Engineering also designed new utilities, prepared drainage calculations, prepared construction specifications, attended public meetings, provided construction administration services, and secured permits from the BWSC, the DEP, the Boston Conservation Commission, and the Massachusetts Port Authority.

Yale University Science Hill Landscape and Open Space Development Plan
Location: New Haven, CT
Client: Olin Partnership

As a part of their effort to double the amount of facility space over the next 20 years, Yale decided to improve Science Hill, a 36-acre site located to the north of Yale’s main campus. The Science Hill Landscape and Open Space Development Plan provided the University with the framework for landscape, open space, infrastructure, and stormwater management designs to support the planned development.

Nitsch Engineering provided sustainable stormwater management consulting for this master plan. The site’s 80-foot grade presented a challenge, but we recommended sustainable and creative stormwater management solutions that could be implemented with future development projects at Science Hill.  The outcome of the study included recommendations for green design solutions such as stormwater harvesting using solar pumps, bioretention for water quality treatment, and the re-creation of wetlands.