In addition to a possible nor’easter, Needham Heights is bracing for another potentially disruptive event this weekend — nighttime building demolition work of a section of the 100-110 West St. building that abuts the MBTA’s commuter line rail tracks.
The unorthodox scheduling is occurring because a significant portion of the 190,000-square-foot, three-story edifice is located within the MBTA’s “zone of influence” over the project, which covers any part of the property within 30 feet of the MBTA right-of-way.
The MBTA has asserted its requirement that no demolition work be done while the commuter rail is operating. A shutdown of the Needham line for scheduled maintenance work over the last weekend of this month has created a window for the work to take place.
“We’re governed by what the MBTA says we can do,” Timothy Sullivan, the attorney for the developer, Greystar Development, told the Planning Board at its Jan. 20 meeting.
“In order to demo that building, there needs to be a shutdown of the MBTA line. Keolis (the T’s commuter rail operator) wants that work done when there’s no trains running, as do we, because of the risk of injury or damage to the tracks or trains etc.”
Demolition work is already underway at the property where Greystar plans to replace the existing 1950s-era brick building fronting on Highland Avenue with a 189-unit apartment complex. A 60-foot length of the L-shaped current structure directly abuts the tracks, bringing the MBTA into the conversation.
Greystar also needed relief from the conditions of the Planning Board permit to allow its demolition contractor, Select Demo, to perform its work outside of the hours agreed to in the permit.
“This is obviously an extenuating circumstance for safety and many other reasons,” said Sullivan. “The special permit limits the work hours on the weekend until 5 on Saturday and it doesn’t allow it on Sunday. So we’re asking for an extension on Saturday and for allowance on Sunday.”
The Planning Board voted unanimously to grant the exception, which will allow the demolition work to begin at 7 a.m. and continue up to 11 p.m. on Saturday (Jan. 31) and, if needed, also on Sunday (Feb. 1).
If the work is not completed this weekend, it would not be allowed to resume until the next planned shutdown, which could occur the weekend of Feb. 22-23.
“We think we can get this work done on the first weekend,” said Sullivan. “If and to the extent we can’t, we’re asking for the second weekend as well. We don’t expect to need it, but we also don’t want to come back for both Saturday and Sunday.”
Planning Board members asked if there was any practical way to manage the noise, especially in the early morning and late evening segments.
“Is there a way of sequencing it so that you have the least amount of noise between 9 and 11?,” asked Planning Board Chair Natasha Espada.
“The first thing to note is, just given the type of demo it is, we’re not going to be able to use big cranes or anything to that effect,” said Tim Beinert, Greystar’s director of development, told the Planning Board.
“Ultimately, we’ll try our best to kind of keep the noise down as it gets later. I mean, the last hour or so is probably just clean-up anyway. But yes, I can make that request of the team to prioritize louder stuff in the daytime.”
Contacted by the Observer, Beinert noted that “nighttime demolition work is common when work is being performed near active railroad tracks.”
He said the work will require temporary onsite construction lights and he is hopeful that the nature of the way the work will be done could diminish the volume.
“We will do our best to minimize noise throughout the demolition process. The building will be taken down through a more controlled, systematic approach using grapples, with selective use of a hydraulic breaker (jackhammer) as is necessitated.”
As for the inconvenient weather forecast, he said Greystar is “monitoring the weather closely. If conditions prevent us from performing the work, we do have an additional weekend in February that was approved by the Planning Board as a backup.”
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