Watlham, Mass – Hobbs Brook Management LLC rencently broke ground on its latest Class A office building, a four-story, 160,000 SF structure in Norwood,Massachusetts. It is anticipated the project will achieve LEED Silver certification for new construction by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and will be the first office building in Norwood to do so. The building, located at 1175 Boston/Providence Highway in Norwood, will be shared by FM Global, one of the world’s largest business property insurers, and Dedham Medical Associates. The groundbreaking occurred on October 21st.
“I felt very strongly about being here today. You build quality structures; you employ people, you conduct yourself in a very refined manner, and you bring us jobs, which is so important to all of
us,” said Helen Abdallah Donohue, selectwoman for the Town of Norwood. “Thank you. We’re so
proud you chose to make Norwood as your next improvement location and we hope you’ll always stay with us.”
FM Global, which has operated in Norwood since the late 1940’s, will relocate nearly 200 employees from 500 River Ridge Drive in Norwood to this new building, which is situated on the same campus as FM Global’s Center for Property Risk Solutions. The 4.7 billion company chose to relocate its insurance offices to enhance the company’s ability to meet client needs and provide a centralized location for its Massachusetts-based employees. Dedham Medical Associates will relocate its Norwood office from 325 River Ridge Drive in order to enhance the patient experience in a larger space.
“As an environmental advocate and leader, conservation has been ingrained in our business philosophy for more than 175 years,” said Tom Lawson, executive vice president, FM Global. “We’re looking forward to maintaining our long-standing presence here in Norwood in a green building that is built to last, minimizes environmental impact, and promotes the health and wellness of our employees, and provides them a great place to work.”
Margulies Perruzzi Architects designed the building to accommodate both tenants with separate entrances and lobbies for each. The Dedham Medical office features a drop-off canopy entrance for patient convenience and an adjacent glass-enclosed stair tower visible from Route 1. FM Global’s entrance features a glass canopy. A shared café resides on the FM Global side of the building, but is accessible to Dedham Medical patients from an exterior door. The new building was sited to fit into the complex of office buildings that comprises FM Global’s Center for Property Risk Solutions, and a landscaped connection was created to join the new building to the existing buildings. The facade of pre-cast concrete and metal rainscreen panels was chosen to blend into the context of the other buildings.
“We’ve been a stable and long-time property owner in Norwood since 1949 and we’re thrilled to
be developing another Class A office building in this town,” said Thomas Dusel, president and CEO of Hobbs Brook Management LLC. “Since developing the first suburban office building in 1954, Hobbs Brook Management has been committed to providing quality, Class A office space, and Norwood is a great place to be located. We’re very pleased Dedham Medical Associates has decided to join FM Global in our proposed building and we expect to be their landlord for a very long time.”
Hobbs Brook Management has incorporated energy efficiency and green building practices in the construction and renovation of its properties for the last three decades. This approach to sustainability substantially reduces and eliminates negative environmental impacts, and, as an added benefit, green operations and management reduce operating costs, enhance building marketability, increase workers’ productivity, and reduce potential liability resulting from indoor
air quality problems. The new building will be designed, constructed and operated as a high- performance green building. Planned features include:
22% optimized energy performance and high performance HVAC equipment
40% water use reduction
Drought resistant plant materials, indigenous to the region, that minimize the need for irrigation water
Bioswale and rain gardens that remove silt and pollution from surface water runoff prior to releasing into the storm water system A high reflection roof to reduce heat islands and to reduce building energy
Solar shading on exterior window system to cut down on heat gain in the building Implementation of recycled and regional building product materials