A new, boutique hotel is set to bring more life to Hamilton Place, the quirky alley known best for being home to the Orpheum Theatre. The 80-key hotel will feature an open-air roof deck with views of the Boston Commons, amenity space, bike storage, and a ground level café.

The project will revitalize an existing three-story building on site, restoring its original sandstone and brick façade while adding a 13-story tower within the existing structure. The team paid special attention to creating a cohesive design with merges old and new through details that celebrate the history of the original building which dates back to the mid-1800s.

The complexities of the constrained site presented unique challenges for both the design and build process. With buildings in close proximity on all sides, and limited accessibility to and from the site, the team significantly researched the appropriate structure type that would cause the least impact on the abutting buildings for the hotel’s design. This led to the decision to use Mass Timber Construction for the new tower. Mass timber construction requires fewer drops at the site and is composed as a kit of parts, requiring less pieces than composite steel.

The site constraints also meant our approach to construction needed to be well thought out and inclusive to the abutting property owners. Regularly occurring logistics meetings with stakeholders and abutters were built into the schedule to obtain consensus on major decisions. Out of this open dialogue, we were able to coordinate a construction schedule during the months when abutters are closed for the season. To ensure minimal disruption during this period, the team devised a strategic plan to demolish and remove parts of the existing structure entirely through a narrow alley behind the site.