Shillman House Chronicles: Entry #30

There is more to developing a site than just putting up a building.  Surface water management for the Shillman site includes an infiltration system designed to capture and infiltrate storm-water, keeping water on site and protecting neighboring properties and Hop Brook.  In this photo, you can see conservation land to the left and the Shillman House parking lot and building to the right.

There is so much progress inside Shillman House.  The shell of the two Shillman elevators is now completed, including the mechanical and electrical systems.  The elevator doors have been installed.  Interior finishes will be completed at the end of the construction process.  The elevator won't become operational until the building's life safety systems and egresses are complete.  With these two elevators, Shillman House will be universally accessible.

Shillman House Chronicles #29

The construction of Shillman House is proceeding quickly these days, both inside and out.  Construction is now 75% complete!  The view from the back of Shillman House shows that all of the detail on the exterior of the building is now finished. The base course for the parking lot paving has been set.  The sidewalks and curbing are going in.

The real activity at Shillman House is now taking place inside the building.  The common rooms are beautiful with large windows that provide great natural light.  What you see here is the future mailroom, a space that residents will frequent often.  The drywall support system for the ceiling is in process. The wiring for the electrical, communication and fire alarm systems is still exposed, but will soon be covered once the ceiling is complete.

Shillman House Chronicles #28

Here's a view of the south courtyard, which is now being prepared for future Shillman residents.  There will be a small lawn area with a tree in the center of the courtyard (shown in the bottom left of the image).  It will be surrounded by concrete sidewalks.  Shrubs and perennials will rim the edges.  There is no question that this will be a favorite space among residents for enjoying the outdoors and time with one another.

Members of JCHE's Resident Services Committee for Shillman House and JCHE staff put on hardhats and took a tour to check out the progress.  They gave Shillman House an enthusiastic 'thumbs up.'  (left to right) Merle Grandberg, Laura Magasanik, Laura Isenberg, David Seltzer, Marcia Rosenberg, Nancy Karp, Maxine Bookless, Malka Young, Amy Schectman, Caren Silverlieb, Judy Bernstein, Susan Krinsky, Ellen Bloch, Gaye Freed, Mara Klein Collins, and Helen Kass.

Shillman House Chronicles: Entry #27

Site work on the Weinberg Campus continues in anticipation of pavement placement and final grades.  One can really envision what it will feel like to drive up to Shillman House in June when the building is complete! The siding is near completion on the two east-facing wings, and the detail has progressed as well.  Architect DiMella Shaffer has designed a beautiful, functional and very green building for our future residents to enjoy.

Inside Shillman House, the activity is moving ahead at an amazing pace.  Wiring for cable and communications are going in.  Hallway walls are being painted.  The apartments are really taking shape.  Each will be equipped with a complete kitchen, including ceramic tile, ample maple cabinets, and granite counter tops.  They each have full refrigerator, oven/stove and dishwasher.  The kitchens are simply lovely.

Shillman House Chronicles: Entry #26

Shillman House is now almost 60% completed!  Siding, windows, shingles and detail on the northeast wing are nearly finished.  Soon the exterior of the entire building will be done.  Following installation of the underground utilities, the land on the Weinberg Campus has been leveled and readied for future finished grade.

Much is happening on the inside of Shillman House.  The mechanical room has been transformed.  The boilers and other equipment have been installed.  Now that the gas, electricity, water and geothermal systems are in, soon the Shillman heating system will be operational for the winter.  Now that's progress!

Shillman House Chronicles: Entry #25

The worker is connecting pipes from the 10 geothermal wells to the basement of the northeast wing of Shillman House.  There, the 55 degree water from the earth will circulate in the pipes to add efficiency to our heating and cooling systems.  A real energy saver!

How about this view of Shillman House from Edmands Road?  The siding of the southwest wing is nearly complete.  The southeast wing in the background is not far behind.  Every day brings new changes!

Shillman House Chronicles: Entry #24

Attention is moving now to the southwest wing of Shillman House (facing Edmands Road), where workers are preparing and installing hardy panel trim to the building.  How about the new brickwork in the foreground?  Looking good!!

Here we are viewing the southeast wing.  The new brickwork is located near the future entry to Shillman House.  Notice the steel casings of the 1,500 foot deep geothermal wells and trenches.  These will soon hold the pipes that will feed the building's heating and cooling system with 55 degree water. 

The construction of the southeast and southwest wings is just a few paces behind the northern wings -- but they are quickly catching up!!

Shillman House Chronicles: Entry #23

Construction of Shillman House is more than 50% complete!  Exterior work continues as the siding goes up and many details are added.  The eaves are now covered.  The siding on the west-facing part of the building is nearly done.  The installer on the boom lift is making steady progress with the siding on the north-facing part of the northwest wing.  Look how far we have come in just a few weeks!  Click here to see what the building looked like on July 23rd!

Much of the work at Shillman House has now shifted to the interior of the building.  The northeast wing is furthest along.  Amazingly, the walls in some of the apartments are already going up.  Here, two workmen are plastering and sanding the walls of a two-bedroom unit.  When it's complete and decorated, it will be shown as a model apartment!

Shillman House Chronicles: Entry #22

Amy Schectman, JCHE's new CEO and President, began her second day with an early morning tour of Shillman House. Standing in one of the common area rooms in the first floor southeast wing, she was briefed on the great progress we've made in the construction of Shillman House.

The exterior of the northeast and northwest wings of Shillman House are looking more and more complete. The carpenter on the closest boon lift is installing Hardy trim and panels to the northeast wing. Further away on the northwest wing, workers continue to put up the siding. The water truck in the foreground is used for dust control on the site. It is exciting to see the evolution of Shillman House into a beautiful building.

Shillman House Chronicles: Entry #21

Great progress on Shillman House this week! While the exterior work is still moving forward, much of the activity has moved to the interior of the building.Here, blue board is being brought to the fourth floor of the northeast wing for construction of apartment bathroom walls.

Utility work is also taking center stage at Shillman House on the Weinberg Campus. Here, a newly laid drain pipe in the south courtyard is being covered with gravel.  As for the Shillman building, the southeast and southwest wings are now both wrapped in vapor barrier.

Shillman House Chronicles: Entry #20

The exterior walls facing Edmands Road on the two southern wings of Shillman House are completed, as are the windows and flashing. On the southeast wing, workers are putting up purple insulation board, which is applied to the block walls to create a thermal barrier. To the left is the three-story southwest wing.

 Another view of the southeast and southwest wings...from the fourth floor window of a future Shillman apartment looking towards Edmands Road. To the left, the southeast wing is wrapped in its vapor barrier. Its roof is already shingled. On the southwest wing, a worker is busy installing flashing around a window, while another is installing trim board around the edge of the roof to prepare for the roof shingle installation. The black strips seen covering the roof plywood will provide an added barrier against ice and water under the roof shingles.

Shillman House Chronicles: Entry #19

JCHE's senior staff stopped by the site to view the progress of the construction.  The northeast portion of the building, to their right, is nearly weather-tight, with most of the siding in place.  The southeast portion, to their left, is also moving along quickly.

Here is the view of the side of the building that faces westward. The northwest wing is wrapped in its vapor barrier, and the flashing and windows are now in place.  

Shillman House Chronicles: Entry #18

There is a lot of activity this week in the area of the building that faces the southern courtyard and Edmands Road.  The wall panels on the three-story southwest wing are now complete.  The roof is taking shape, as the windows and flashing are going in.  The building's four-story H bar, which connects the west and east halves, is several steps ahead!

Here's the construction from a new perspective!  The exterior walls on the building's southeast wing are nearly complete.  This photo shows a workman carefully checking the roof eaves with a level to make that they are just right.

Shillman House Chronicles: Entry #17

The northeast wing of Shillman House is looking good!  The vapor barrier is going up, followed by the building's siding.  You can start to see the lovely detail of the building take shape.

Looking towards the north courtyard, the activity is humming.  The northeast wing has been wrapped in the vapor barrier and the shingles are being placed on the roof.  Along the H bar of the building, which is the connector between the wings, the flashing and windows are being installed.  The northwest wing is also in motion.  The fourth floor walls are now up and the roof trusses are being installed.

Shillman House Chronicles: Entry #16

• The northeast wing windows are now in and the shingles are being installed on the roof.  Soon this entire wing will be weather tight!  On the southeast wing, the second floor walls are going up.  The large window openings that you can see in the top photo are for the first floor common area rooms.

• Here's a look at some of the Shillman House southeast wing common areas from the inside! The interior walls are not yet installed, but you can almost envision that someday soon this will be the building's entry area, bistro, convenience store, computer center and library.  Imagine the wonderful morning light that will shine through these east-facing windows!

Shillman House Chronicles: Entry #15

Shillman House is really taking shape!

• WOW!  The very first window is being installed.  It's for a staff office in the northeast wing.  
• The concrete trucks are here to create the last slab placement, completing the major portion of concrete in the buildings!  The roof is nearly complete on the northeast wing, while the third floor walls are going up in the northwest wing. 

Shillman House Chronicles: Entry #14

• The action on 49 Edmands Road continues!  The 40 ton crane in the top photo is hoisting a roof truss onto the northeast wing.

• The southeast wing of the building will soon take shape, as marked by the slab on grade in the forefront of the bottom photo.  Beyond the future South Courtyard, the first floor wall panels are  being installed in the northwest wing.  Meanwhile, the northeast wing is now up to four floors and the new roof trusses are hidden behind the elevator shaft.  What progress!!

Shillman House Chronicles: Entry #13

• Members of JCHE's Real Estate Development Committee gathered on May 14 with our Site Super to check on the progress of Shillman House.  The supporting walls of the 2nd floor in the northeast wing are nearly completed and the drilling of the ninth geothermal well is in progress.  Just one more well to go!

• Can you believe it?  A first floor corner apartment is taking shape,  and our Committee members are checking it out!  After all the hard work to make Shillman House a reality, it's wonderful to find ourselves surrounded by walls and a ceiling!  

Shillman House Chronicles: Entry #12

• Wood framing continues for Shillman's northeast wing! The lull is unloading floor trusses for the second floor.
• The southeast wing foundations and block stair walls are complete!  The excavator is preparing for underground plumbing. 

Shillman House Chronicles: Entry #11

• Shillman House's elevator shaft has been completed and now the masonry staging is set up to build the growing stairwell in the northeast wing.  The first floor concrete has been placed in the northeast wing. The walls of the first floor are going up quickly!
• The pre-fab first floor walls are going up one section at a time.  You can see a team placing a section of an exterior wall in place.

Shillman House Chronicles: Entry #10

• The masonry staging is set up around the growing elevator shaft.  Its fire-rated block walls will go from the basement to the roof level.
• Shillman's structural skeleton is in!  Steel supports over the basement area form the first floor deck.  Steel columns and beams connect to the concrete footings and walls to secure the structure that will support the floors above.  The sleeves, or holes, installed in the foundation wall to the left will have 5" pipes coming through them to connect the geothermal wells to the heating and cooling system for the building.

Shillman House Chronicles: Entry #9

• More framework!  The connector between the northeast and the northwest sections of the building is just starting to take shape!
• This section of the northwest foundation has been waterproofed with more pink insulation and a black mirror drain.  The excavator is now back-filling the area.

Shillman House Chronicles: Entry #8

Workers have begun the installation of waterproofing and rigid insulation to the exterior of the foundation walls of the northeast wing. Shillman House is looking pretty in pink!!

Meanwhile, in the northwest wing, formwork and rebars (reinforced bars) for the basement concrete walls are being installed. There has been so much progress this week!

Shillman House Chronicles: Entry #7

Workers are busy removing the wall forms from the northeast foundation walls. The reinforced concrete supporting walls are now up.

Blasting of ledge is continuing in the future northwest parking lot. All blasting is being supervised by the Framingham Fire Department. The broken up ledge material is being hauled off of the site.

Shillman House Chronicles: Entry #6

There's great progress in the northeast wing of the future Shillman House! The basement foundation wall forms were being installed, along with steel reinforcing bars.

The supporting walls of the building, made of reinforced concrete, will be up soon.