Fort Point Channel Apartments in Boston Bags LEED Gold

By Dees Stribling, Constributing Editor

Boston—315 on A, an apartment community completed this year in the Fort Point Channel neighborhood—which is a hive of multifamily development these days—has won LEED Gold. The property has a number of distinctive features that earned the designation, but especially unusual is that at the time of its opening early this year, 315 on A was the largest project to date to use the “Nest” Thermostat system, which “learns” a resident’s schedule program and can be controlled from a mobile device. According to ADD Inc., the property’s designer, the combined annual energy savings of the building is enough to power 126 homes, remove 38 cars from the road and save 3.8 million gallons of water.

The 202-unit 315 on A has other sustainable features as well, such as energy efficient appliances, non-toxic finishes, locally sourced high-recycled content materials, and a savings of 1.5 gallons of water with every flush. The building also performs 27 percent better than the required energy code. Also, a 22.8 kWh array of Building Integrated Photovoltaic Panels is integrated into the building’s façade along the roofline, instead of on the roof.

The 20-story tower consists of studios and one- and two-bedroom apartments. The community features a roof deck and fitness center with views of Boston’s Financial and Seaport Districts. The ground floor common room includes a fireplace, live/work conference space, 61 bike parking spaces, and artwork from local Fort Point Channel artists.

For the building’s skin, designers made use of precast concrete panels similar in texture and hue to neighboring brick buildings. On the interior, natural materials including terrazzo floors, wood, steel and exposed concrete introduce varied textures to recall the neighborhood’s industrial heritage. The wood floor in the lobby was milled from beams that were salvaged from the original warehouse on the site.

Portland, Ore.-based Gerding Edlen is the developer of the project. Among its projects, 13 have obtained LEED Platinum and 45 more are LEED Gold. ADD Inc. recently was acquired by Stantec.

Currently, there are 22 under construction or recently complete multifamily developments in Fort Point Channel (most apartments, some condos), for an estimated total of more than 4,000 units to be completed by the end of 2016. Besides 315 on A, other major projects include Flats on D, Factory 63 and Twenty Two Liberty, which topped out in October.