Newsbrief: Construction in Boston
Jaclyn Buckley
I hope everyone is staying safe and smart during these difficult times!!
Mayor Martin Walsh has halted all emergency construction in Boston due to the COVID-19 pandemic, making it one of the first major cities to abort essential construction plans, according to news outlets nationwide.
They had originally called for a two-week halt, but the rapidly growing cases in Massachusetts convinced Mayor Walsh to extend the ban indefinitely. “The safety and health of construction workers and all residents of Boston is my first priority, and I am not willing to put that at risk as the virus spreads throughout our communities,” Walsh said, according to Scott Vanhoris for ENR.
This has had a major affect on construction workers looking for work in the city.“There were 97 different active construction projects across the city before the ban went into place last week, for a total of more than 21 million sq ft of new or renovated residential, office and commercial space, according to the Boston Planning and Development Agency,” according to Van Hooris of ENR.
Terry Buckley, Trailer salesman at Triumph Modular Inc., explains how this has affected his work as well. He said, “We have projects that have been put on hold so we can’t deliver anything into Boston. They expect us to leave these trailers on hold for them but it puts us in a bad spot because we have other customers we have to tend to.” This has also affected the number of sales that they have had because Boston, along with other nearby cities, typically has a lot of construction going on.
Although some of these construction sites are deemed essential, the risk of the COVID-19 is too great for the projects to continue. Nearby cities including Somerville and Cambridge also shut down their construction sites. According to Tom Acitelli for Curbed Boston, “the Hotel Buckminster at 645 Beacon Street announced it would not reopen after closing due to the pathogen. What will become of the inn’s choice site in a Fenway-Kenmore area rife with development in recent years is unclear.” This sort of affect that the pandemic is having makes the future for the housing market in Boston, for homebuyers, also unclear.
“The rules will now include all contractors needing to create a “COVID-19 safety plan” including how the contractor will enforce social distancing and provide the necessary sanitation. The contractors will have to sign affidavits swearing that they’ll follow these plans, and risk having their permits pulled if they don’t do so,” according to, Sean Cotter, for the Boston Herald.
Walsh, who was former head of all building trades in Boston, refuses to open up the construction industry until there are guidelines in place. He stated that he will be giving a two week-notice before construction sites are allowed to reopen in the Boston area- allowing only the essential ones. He also said he would give a one week-notice before the rest of the construction sites are allowed to reopen. He remains stern about keeping things halted until the pandemic starts to die down in Massachusetts.
