Owner/Client
Town of Plymouth
Location
Plymouth, MA
CEC Services
- Due Diligence/Facility Assessment
- Environmental Site Investigations
- Geotechnical Investigations
- Pre-Demolition Building Surveys
- Asbestos Sampling & Consulting
- Hazardous Materials Inventories
Owner Objective
The Town of Plymouth, Massachusetts, was the site of the colony founded in 1620 by the Pilgrims. The largest municipality in Massachusetts by area and one of the oldest municipalities in the United States, Plymouth is located approximately 40 miles south of Boston in a region of Massachusetts known as the South Shore.
In 1820, a courthouse was built in celebration of Plymouth’s 200th anniversary. In preparation for the 400th anniversary in 2020, the building is being renovated to become the gateway to a new town hall complex. The Town of Plymouth needed project members to demonstrate great care for the historic property while also working on a highly accelerated project schedule.
CEC Approach
CEC was engaged to assess site conditions prior to issuing a request for bids for the demolition of several buildings within the footprint of the new complex and the partial demolition of the courthouse. With demolition scheduled for the winter of 2015, CEC was tasked with completing an assessment of a two-and-a-half-block area with several current and former buildings in a matter of weeks.
CEC’s services included pre-demolition building surveys, environmental due diligence, environmental site investigations, geotechnical investigations, preliminary cost estimation, and bid document preparation. A pre-demo assessment was completed for the demolition or partial demolition of structures with varying historic significance. This assessment included asbestos sampling of materials in those areas that will be preserved to remain part of the new town hall, such as the courtroom relating to the 1920 trial of Bartolomeo Vanzetti, the Italian American anarchist who was subsequently convicted in the historic and controversial Saco and Vanzetti case. Other areas, such as a former jail building, are also slated for demolition.
During the due diligence process, there were some surprises, such as buried debris from two old schools that contained a mix of ordinary demo waste and asbestos containing material (ACM). To address these issues, CEC promptly determined the approximate volume of waste and prepared bid documents relating to the waste. CEC also identified and uncovered an underground storage tank (UST) that had been reported by prior consults, but which the prior consults were unable to locate.
CEC met the client’s need for expedited services in order to facilitate the Town’s plans to begin demolition.
