BURLINGTON, MA– Erland Construction received a Build New England Performance Award from the Associated General Contractors of Massachusetts (AGC MA).
The AGC MA recognized the Erland team for building the John and Diane Kim Autism Institute at the New England Center for Children, a school that is dedicated to transforming the lives of children with autism, locally and internationally, through education, research and technology.
Designed by Dixon Salo Architects of Worcester, the 33,000-square-foot, three-story addition serves as a research and education center for educators, parents and students. The institute in Southborough, MA also includes specialty rooms for training and observation that are designed for education research. For Erland, the new building is a remarkable project, knowing that it will provide long term benefits for the researchers, teachers, students, and families affiliated with the globally-recognized school.
“Not only did we build a new facility to help advance the mission of the NECC, we also built a relationship with the school, including the students, teachers and staff,” said Steve Craft, Project Executive, Erland. “We are extremely proud to receive the Build New England Performance Award for this amazing project.”
Since school was in session during construction, Erland paid special attention to the safety of the students. Due to the uniquely sensitive environment at the NECC, Erland’s team took great care to avoid disrupting daily activities and greatly reduce students’ exposure to noise, dust or vibrations caused by construction. The team installed a complex card reader security system on doors in the construction areas and stayed in constant communication with NECC faculty and staff.
“Erland worked within the setup of our active school campus and I can’t say enough about their professionalism, genuine caring attitudes, and dedication to keeping our students and staff safe. They’ve been an incredible partner from the beginning and we are so appreciative of all of their hard work,” said Jared Bouzan, NECC’s Chief Development Officer. “We now have a world-class facility where teachers can learn and students can benefit for years to come.”
Erland executives were so impressed by the work that NECC accomplishes that the company formed the Erland Charitable Foundation, which raises funds to support community organizations and charities. Last year, the Foundation held its inaugural event, “Strike Out Autism,” to benefit NECC. Erland employees were joined by more than 200 construction industry members at King’s in Burlington and raised $20,000 that went directly to NECC for research and training.
Every other year, the AGC MA presents the Build New England Awards to recognize outstanding teams that build projects around New England. The program is designed to commend the owners, developers, designers, contractors and subcontractors who collaborate on the hardest and most creative commercial and institutional projects. Erland was the only non-union contractor to receive this year’s performance award.
