Real Estate Archives

Built in 1944, 15 Winter Street in Cambridge, MA was a building needing upgrades to appeal and function adequately for future potential tenants.

Margulies Perruzzi worked closely with the building owner, East Cambridge Company, OPM, Building Operations, Consulting Engineers, SED Associates Corp, and Structural Engineers, H+O to update the exterior, creating a modernized appearance and strong street presence. Additionally, interior design services were provided for speculative suites that could accommodate one or two tenants.

MP was tasked with completing this building upgrade within an efficient timeframe. The team achieved the project goals, delivering a modernized building with residential design influences. It is an ideal workspace in East Cambridge for a creative company or a growing startup.

MP was engaged to provide a feasibility study for converting two buildings into multi-tenant facilities for R&D and light manufacturing companies. The site is currently two separate, 80’s era, partially vacant, two-story office buildings totaling approximately 154,000 SF.

To accommodate repositioning the buildings for light manufacturing, the strategy involved removing portions of the second-floor concrete slab and reinforcing the existing columns to create a two-story space that could house manufacturing equipment, racking and storage, process equipment, and other features common to manufacturing and maker space tenants. Options for single and multi-tenant demising were explored in several fit plan scenarios as well as sweeping, but cost-effective solutions for rebranding the dated façade and fenestration, including the adjacent landscape and hardscape.

MP was brought on by IQHQ for this building repositioning project which includes upgrades to the building infrastructure to enable demolition of the adjacent building, as well as core and shell upgrades to the first and second floors at 20 Overland Street. The scope of work includes converting the existing office building to support life sciences labs and offices.

MP partnered with BR+A to provide a new shaft space from first floor to the new rooftop equipment, new dunnage at the roof for a new lab emergency power generator with fuel oil storage in the basement, a new lab air-handling unit, and cold and warm shell coordination.

Upgrades were also made to the lobbies and entrances at both the Overland and Burlington Street building entrances to entice more foot traffic in front of the building and to connect with the future public circulation.

On the first and second floors, MP is providing design services for a 40,000 SF interior fit-out for a life sciences tenant with a 60/40 lab/office split. A connection between the lab and office is supported by glass walls, allowing a clear visual into the lab from the office. In addition, the fifth-floor space will be built out as another 10,000 SF lab and office space.

This client sought to transform their underutilized roof deck into a welcoming, versatile destination that supports respite, collaboration, and large-group gatherings.

The design team’s concept, “Oasis in the Sky”, reimagines the roof deck as a lush urban retreat that offers a variety of experiences. Native plantings and flowering trees create a garden-like setting, providing opportunities to pause, recharge, and connect with nature, while flexible gathering areas support all-hands meetings, informal collaboration, and social interaction. A large canopy with a green roof anchors the space, providing shelter from the elements while creating a focal point for the bar and adjacent gathering area.

Sustainability is woven throughout the design through the thoughtful selection of materials and integration of native greenery. Each space is carefully positioned to create a range of experiences while maximizing panoramic views and strengthening the connection between the workplace and its surrounding environment.

Photography by Ed Wonsek ArtWorks Inc.

Unicorn Park, an easy-access campus of suburban office buildings, has underutilized FAR for development while lacking a sense of cohesiveness. MP’s proposed design provides a solution to these challenges by introducing an expanded building at the terminus of a new pedestrian mall connecting all the buildings. Because this part of the campus is actually needed only as a fire lane, it can be repurposed as casual outside gathering space – ready to host food trucks, café dining, and collaboration/meeting areas. The new landscaping becomes a central campus theme, ringed by common amenities to create a heightened sense of community.

The channel-side lot adjacent to the Fort Point area of Boston’s Seaport District is one of the largest undeveloped sites from the original 100-acre plan that remains in close proximity to downtown Boston. Working with both the owner and potential suitors, MP visualized the ultimate potential of the site and provided support in the sale of the asset.

Working in conjunction with both parties, MP proposed a new masterplan that included access to the waterfront, street level pedestrian connections with below grade parking, and building massings that accentuate both the views of and from the site while coordinating with the below-grade I-90 tunnel restrictions.

Margulies Perruzzi worked with Campanelli Companies to reposition Upland Road to appeal to tenants within the Route 128 South marketplace.

MP’s design includes a dramatic amenity street that connects the new east and west entries and offers all tenants access to the new, two-story sky-lit atrium. This central street with storefront-style tenant entrances is dotted with impromptu gathering spaces to create a community for tenants.

The large floor plates and exposed high ceilings provide tenants with open, flexible, and brightly lit spaces and can accommodate companies starting at 11,000 square feet. Multiple new exterior entrances provide convenient access to parking. New landscaped areas offer tenants seating space for outdoor meetings.

A former Polaroid manufacturing center, Upland’s dramatic revitalization includes a new full-service café, a best-in-market fitness center with a virtual ride instruction spin studio, conference facilities, and a gaming area with foosball, ping pong tables and shuffleboard.

Sustainability

This project is certified LEED-Gold.

Margulies Perruzzi provided design services for a 160,000-square-foot office building in Norwood, MA. This class A office building is LEED-Gold certified and provides office space for Hobbs Brook, as well as facilities for a medical office building tenant. Conveniently located on Route 1, the building will help to create a Hobbs Brook campus, allowing employees direct access to training facilities and other amenities in existing company buildings nearby. The building has four floors and includes a cafeteria and fitness center.

The building was designed with a central core that was split in two with a demising wall (half of the core slated for use by the tenant, half by Hobbs Brook); the intent being that it could easily become one core again in the future should the building be converted to single tenancy. There are three distinct main entries to the building, a covered front drop off for patients, a primary entry for Hobbs Brook, and an entry from the back parking lot for the tenant’s employees. In addition, one of the primary exit stairs, shared between Hobbs Brook and the tenant, was located at the front of the building and made it into a dramatic feature stair visible from the exterior.

MP worked closely with the medical office building tenant throughout the process and was able to incorporate unique programmatic elements (such as an MRI dock), seamlessly into the design. A basement was added during the construction documentation process when it was determined that the difference in elevation between level one and the required footing depth meant that it made economic sense to do so.

Sustainability

This project achieved a perfect LEED-Gold score.

Award-Winner

Honorable Mention | Environmental Design + Construction Excellence in Design Awards
Corenet New England Award of Excellence for Sustainability
Project Innovations Grand Prize | Buildings Magazine

Margulies Perruzzi was retained to design 175-185 Wyman Street, a three-story office building campus comprising 335,000 square feet, as an extension of Hobbs Brook’s Wyman Street office park. The campus is comprised of two Class A office buildings with a full-service cafeteria, locker rooms, and both structured and surface parking.

The buildings are sited on one of the most highly prized and visible locations along Route 128 in Waltham. After ten years of unsuccessful development efforts by multiple owners/developers to build a single, taller building requiring a variance, MP developed a unique concept for the site. Featuring a beautifully landscaped courtyard protected from the noise of the highway, two lower buildings are unified in a “campus” setting. MP worked with the existing grades to fit parking below office levels in order to meet the developer’s requested parking counts, while still meeting tight zoning height restrictions. Large office floor plates maximize the window line, with views of the surrounding woods, the courtyard, the Cambridge Reservoir, and hills of Weston beyond.

Mill & Main was planned as a vibrant destination, drawing in both residents and workers. A beautiful courtyard connects two buildings to create a unified campus in a highly prized location.

After a major tenant moved out of the historic Clock Tower Place, the developer saw an opportunity to reinvigorate the mill building and create a new, 50-acre, mixed-use development with over 1.1 million square feet of office, retail, and open space (and plans for future adjacent residential developments).

MP’s master plan creates green spaces and sight lines to the pond. The plan envisioned boutique retail and galleries to activate the pedestrian level while visitors could stroll across a scenic boardwalk to an artisan brewpub. MP created the name Mill & Main as part of its concept to connect the old Mill building to Main Street in Maynard.

A contemporary and vibrant logo was created to help brand the property. To replace old and conflicting numbering systems, MP renumbered the buildings and significantly overhauled signage and wayfinding, including detailed kiosks that help visitors find their way.