CDM designed and constructed a state-of-the-art playing field facility for Emerson College, restoring a playground on a former brownfield site. Used jointly by the college and the Boston Parks and Recreation Department, the playground must be able to withstand intense public field use and meet the college athletic program's needs.
Using a fast-track, design-build approach, CDM provided environmental, geotechnical, site, and sports field design; architecture and building design; and full-spectrum construction services of this $4.8 million project. The new facility boasts approximately 3 acres of lighted, artificial turf sports fields and a 4,000-square-foot building with restrooms, team locker rooms, coach/training rooms, and equipment storage.
Built on top of 45 feet of urban fill and organic silts, the site presented unique subsurface challenges. All areas of the playground-light posts, scoreboards, and the building-were built with 45-foot-deep caisson foundations in the underlying urban fill. A surcharge program was also incorporated into the site filling and grading activities, minimizing settlement of other improvements.
The result of this project was a state-of-the-art athletic facility using environmentally impacted property that would have otherwise continued to pose ongoing environmental management and aesthetic challenges to Emerson College and the City of Boston.