Encore Boston Harbor Resort: A sustainable community asset

Wynn’s Encore Boston Harbor Resort transformed a heavily contaminated 33-acre historically industrial waste site into a 3.1-million-square-foot entertainment venue that’s breathing life into a previously dormant urban location.

The 500,000-square-foot program footprint includes 2,970 visitor parking spaces below grade; public venues including 200,000-square-feet of gaming area,  16 dining and lounge venues, intelligent meeting rooms, a 37,000-square-foot multifunction ballroom, retail shops, a spa, and a health club; and, a 28-story guestroom tower with 671 keys of oversized 5-star quality suites throughout.

Jacobs served as the executive architect, the prime designer of the mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems, and the sustainability lead for the casino resort, located directly off the Boston Harbor in Everett, MA. The project helped turn the site from a wasteland into a lush landscaped garden and pedestrian connecting corridor, enhancing the recreational experience including water taxis from downtown Boston and sea bed restoration with an ecological living shoreline.

Initially contracted as the executive architect, we first worked with Wynn Resorts on-staff architects and interior designers. As the AOR, we implemented the design intent to regional codes and construction practices, and we assembled and managed the team of engineering disciplines that completed the design elements other than the architecture. Jacob’s own mechanical, electrical, telecommunications, and plumbing engineers were a part of this team.

Jacobs’ architects and engineers were accountable for the execution of the design through construction and commissioning. We also managed sustainability efforts, including the design and monitoring of construction for a LEED Platinum rating – the highest level achievable.

Faced with the removal of large quantities of contaminated soil and the excavation of 840,000 tons of soil to accommodate the subgrade parking, the layout needed to be responsive to allow this time-consuming activity to be completed efficiently. The footprint of the deep excavation allowed other sites access to hazardous materials that required greater time to process. The layout also permitted the construction team to create a spur off the adjacent rail line where train cars carried waste daily during off-hours keeping heavy conventional vehicles off of public streets. Our team completed this massive remedial effort with minimal impact on the local communities.

The project’s efforts to restore 24,000-square-feet of living shoreline allowed the use of natural materials and context-appropriate vegetation to create a stable tidal area, reducing erosion and providing a habitat for native birds, fish, and even shellfish to return to the area after over a century of absence. The Mystic River Watershed Association (MyRWA) worked with the Encore Boston Harbor team to accomplish unprecedented work that now serves as a model for environmental remediation for other riverfront landowners. A second living shoreline effort is already underway along with a nearby Somerville coastal property.

In addition to the environmental remediation, the waterfront additionally boasts a six-acre Encore Harborwalk Park that connects the Mystic River Watershed trails for non-motorized, recreational use. The Harborwalk is part of the Mystic Greenways Initiative, which will connect 25 miles of paths and enable non-roadway connections across the greater Boston area. For the casino, specifically, this will mean that many of the 10,000 daily commuters as well as area patrons will be able to get to work without adding to traffic woes seen in major metropolitan areas.

Located on Boston Harbor, we addressed the global challenge of rising sea levels in the design by elevating the primary functions well above the projected 500-year flood elevation. Key mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems are located to minimize the impact on ongoing operations in the event of coastal flooding. Elements such as garage access and egress stairs that might be at an elevation exposed to potential flooding are equipped with provisions for temporary protection. For example, the 4MW of batteries can power 50% of the building for two hours and with emergency diesel generators they can power 50% of the building indefinitely.

From the outset of the project, we worked toward the goal of achieving LEED Gold with a target of 28%more efficient than a baseline building. In the final design, the building is 51% more efficient than the baseline building. This earned the maximum available 19 LEED points in the “optimize Energy Performance” category as well as an additional Exemplary Performance point.

Because Encore Boston Harbor Resort represents such a high-profile project in the state and met so many energy efficiencies and resiliency goals, its success is a great demonstration of the work performed by designers to save energy and reduce CO₂ emissions. Additionally, the collection and reuse of rainwater for 100% of irrigation needs promote good neighbor policies in a sensitive oceanfront environment and the development of a recreated bio-sensitive waterfront demonstrates comprehensive environmental engineering. Construction of this massive complex in just 32 months applied multiple project management skills including the remediation of the significantly contaminated soils, integration of prestressed concrete with steel framing, and, logistical materials handling throughout the building process. Daily staffing fluctuated between 800 and 1,500 workers on-site daily. The Wynn team, Jacobs, and Suffolk Construction collaborated to build $2.6 billion facilities in 32 months. The 5-star resort transformed a hazardous wasteland into a vibrant community asset.

Encore Boston Harbor is a unique gaming and resort venue due to its sustainable profile. As a result of the engineering process, it’s a leading sustainable solution –LEED Platinum – creating demands half that of comparable facilities with verified environmentally-friendly components throughout the building and operations.