College Hockey ‘Reaching the end of its useful life’: As historic Matthews Arena faces foundational issues, Northeastern weighs new arena

[SPB2776]

I don't know if I could hate that rendering more.

Going from a classic facade to something out of a sci-fi movie

 

[Morris Wanchuk]

I don't know if I could hate that rendering more.

Dont worry, once they start digging, they will spend most of their money hauling hazardous soil Niagara falls to get burned and have to pay off the MBTA so it will get value engineered into a square box.

 

[jgatie]

Dont worry, once they start digging, they will spend most of their money hauling hazardous soil Niagara falls to get burned and have to pay off the MBTA so it will get value engineered into a square box.

Nah, that beast of a plant used a salt water brine for refrigerant. I know because I used to have to test the salinity with a hydrometer. The only thing hazardous in that ancient barn were the rats.

 

[Gordoff]

Dont worry, once they start digging, they will spend most of their money hauling hazardous soil Niagara falls to get burned and have to pay off the MBTA so it will get value engineered into a square box.

Please explain. I don't know what you mean by this all. Even if it isn't "hazardous soil" what's the deal with Niagra Falls and the MBTA linkage to it all?
Inquiring minds..........

 

[Morris Wanchuk]

Please explain. I don't know what you mean by this all. Even if it isn't "hazardous soil" what's the deal with Niagra Falls and the MBTA linkage to it all?
Inquiring minds..........

1) All soil in Boston is contaminated to some degree. When you dig a hole in Boston, you need to negotiate with landfills to take it. Typically you sample the soil in a grid pattern so you have square "cells" and based on the analytical data from the samples in those cells, you start finding places to take it. Clean stuff is easy to get rid of, granite links golf course has a lot of it from the big dig. There is landfill in NH that take asbestos and lead contaminated soil, so long as the lead does not have a "leaching" capacity to it.

BUT Matthews Arena is also next to the MBTA which means the soil will be particularly nasty (Oil, PCBs, etc.). When it gets to that point, no landfill will take it. At that point the closest disposal option is to send it to an incinerator to be burned. Lots of times I have had soil sent to trash burning plants in Niagara falls.

Also, since they will be building next to the MBTA there will be a lot of negotiating with them about access and property lines. I have seen it cost millions.

Fun fact, the T offered Northeastern air rights over the orange line track in the 1970s to build a massive football stadium on Columbus ave. At that time Northeastern said no thanks but when they started to become a more residential school in the 1990s, they revisited the football stadium idea and the MBTA told them to go screw. NU ended football soon there after and went all in on hockey.

Lots of building come out the gate looking fancy but end up not so much due to the non-sexy costs going crazy. Polar Park is a good example.

https://www.wbjournal.com/article/challenging-site-tight-timeline-led-to-major-cost-increases-for-polar-park

 

[Gordoff]

1) All soil in Boston is contaminated to some degree. When you dig a hole in Boston, you need to negotiate with landfills to take it. Typically you sample the soil in a grid pattern so you have square "cells" and based on the analytical data from the samples in those cells, you start finding places to take it. Clean stuff is easy to get rid of, granite links golf course has a lot of it from the big dig. There is landfill in NH that take asbestos and lead contaminated soil, so long as the lead does not have a "leaching" capacity to it.

BUT Matthews Arena is also next to the MBTA which means the soil will be particularly nasty (Oil, PCBs, etc.). When it gets to that point, no landfill will take it. At that point the closest disposal option is to send it to an incinerator to be burned. Lots of times I have had soil sent to trash burning plants in Niagara falls.

Also, since they will be building next to the MBTA there will be a lot of negotiating with them about access and property lines. I have seen it cost millions.

Fun fact, the T offered Northeastern air rights over the orange line track in the 1970s to build a massive football stadium on Columbus ave. At that time Northeastern said no thanks but when they started to become a more residential school in the 1990s, they revisited the football stadium idea and the MBTA told them to go screw. NU ended football soon there after and went all in on hockey.

Lots of building come out the gate looking fancy but end up not so much due to the non-sexy costs going crazy. Polar Park is a good example.

https://www.wbjournal.com/article/challenging-site-tight-timeline-led-to-major-cost-increases-for-polar-park

WOW, thank you for the education. I did know about the landfill in NH that takes asbestos. In the '90s I sold a 3 decker in Cambridge that I had all of the asbestos removed from all of the old steam pipes from the 3 furnaces and throughout the basement. We did it the legal way and in the end we got a burial certificate with the location etc specified.
I've heard about other people who did it as a DIY project but decided that not only was it illegal, if you got caught it was a huge fine, and the health risks involved to all of the occupants and those visiting wasn't anywhere near worth the risk. Furthermore, at that time it didn't cost all that much vs doing it the wrong way. The buyer got a copy of the certificate, and I will always keep the original to be handed down through the generations.