Facts:
Size: 180,000 sf
Date: Completed 2009

Description:
The 180,000 SF Paramount Center at Emerson College is a multi-use project that includes restoration of the Paramount Theater and a total reconstruction of two adjacent buildings at 545 Washington Street in downtown Boston.
The new center includes the Paramount Theater, ‘black box’ theater, seven performance studios, a VMA soundstage, video screening room, a restaurant, classrooms and a residence hall for 260 students.

Challenge/Situation:
One of the greatest challenges is the location of the project. Adjacent to and connected to the Boston Opera House and surrounded by 1500 luxury residential units, the site offered little space for normal construction operations.

Solution/Action:
A top-down construction sequencing operation allowed the work to be developed within the confines of the site without impinging on neighboring properties. During Boston Opera House productions, access was coordinated with the operators of the theater.

Benefit/Result:
The center allows Emerson College to provide student housing in the theater district; represents a renaissance of entertainment on Washington Street. Careful construction operations minimized impact on the neighborhood.