BOSTON, MA - Broadway Electrical Co., Inc. of Boston completes construction of the $9.5 million electrical core of One Lincoln Street, a new 37-story high rise commercial building in Boston. The 1,000,000 s/f facility, will serve as the headquarters for State Street Bank.

The complex primary power installations for the building include six 4000 Amp services which are fed off one power vault on the P2 level. Several transformers feed the building, and a 2000KW generator provides emergency/ back-up power to the facility from the P1 level.

Unique to Broadway’s electrical construction is the manner in which the large emergency generator was installed. Due to the tight site and difficult logistics, the electrical contractor had to first dismantle the emergency generator, then lower it by crane, and finally reassemble it prior to installation. This was the most efficient means of access and installation.

The primary power installations also required Broadway Electrical’s considerable experience in the design of the facility’s bus, duct, and piping systems. The Boston based contractor’s field engineering expertise and CAD design for the refined bus duct plan enabled the installation to efficiently meet actual site parameters. The bus duct was factory ordered to dimension, and the process resulted in a precise installation.

The multifaceted electrical project scope at One Lincoln Street also entails the installation of a state-of-the-art, bidirectional fire alarm system and intercom system, as well as the management of the security systems’ installation at Boston’s newest high-rise building. The building’s card access security system will feature call station monitoring of all stairwells.

One of the many key project challenges met by Broadway was the installation of façade lighting. The intricate process required the custom assembly of fixtures installed on the top sections of the building. Broadway designed a special tool for this purpose. The facility’s exterior lighting consists of 16-foot tubes, which are custom designed and manufactured. Broadway’s installation of the upper façade lighting was placed via balcony access on the 22nd, 26th, 31st and 35th floors at street elevations of 300, 400, and 500 feet.

Concurrent to providing primary electrical installations for One Lincoln Street, the NECA member contractor also handled the electrical fit-up for power, lighting, and a sophisticated security system - provided by Mac Systems - for the 5-level underground parking garage. The parking facility security system, manufactured by Stento, features a “scream alarm” with voiceactivated microphones, security cameras, and call stations in the stairwells. The cost of this security system alone represented more than 1 million dollars in equipment and installation costs.

At peak construction, Broadway managed a field staff of up to 41 journeymen and apprentice electricians from IBEW Local 103 to meet the aggressive project schedule. Glenn Duquette, project manager and chief estimator, commented on Broadway’s ability to accommodate the unique power requirements at the facility, saying, “In an effort to most efficiently provide power to the facility, we custom designed the layout for bus duct and piping systems. Broadway’s ability to provide effective solutions on site oftentimes entails custom CAD work.”

Broadway Electrical worked in tandem with project architect, Jung /Brannen Associates, Inc. of Boston, general contractor Beacon Skanska of Boston, and the electrical engineering firm, C3 of Boston.

Download the original articled as featured in the November issue of the NECA Newsletter.