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Forest City Honored with Preservation Award from Massachusetts Historical Commission
May 26, 2010

MAYNARD, Massachusetts, 5/18/2010 - On Tuesday, May 18th the Massachusetts Historical Commission honored Forest City Residential Group with a Preservation Award for their adaptive reuse of the former Hamel Leather shoe factory in Haverhill, Massachusetts.  Forest City's $60 million project involved converting four mill buildings to 305 new residential units with amenity spaces.  The four historic buildings include the 1911 Pentucket Associates Building, the 1915 Essex Associates Building, the 1916 Tilton Building and the 1928 Power Plant. 

Epsilon assisted Forest City is securing over $20 million in state and federal historic rehabilitation tax credits for the project.  For more information about Forest City's Hamel Mill Lofts project visit http://hamelmilllofts.com/.

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Epsilon Principal Laura Rome Elected to OAR Board of Directors
April 27, 2010

 

MAYNARD, Massachusetts, 4/27/10 - At its meeting on April 27, 2010, the Board of Directors of the Organization for the Assabet River elected Laura Rome to a three-year term on the Board.  OAR is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose mission is to protect, preserve, and enhance the natural and recreational features of the Assabet River, its tributaries, and the watershed.  Established in 1986 by a group of concerned citizens, OAR currently has approximately 920 members, a 14-member Board of Directors, and 5 part-time staff.

OAR's three-pronged approach to its mission is to:
• Raise awareness of the river's natural beauty, habitat value and physical importance to the watershed communities, governments and other stakeholders as well as bringing attention to the problems that affect the river’s quality;
• Collect data and advocate for additional information gathering to insure that decisions affecting the river are based on scientific research; and
• Work collaboratively with local and state governmental officials, community members, and others toward solutions that will help the river achieve its "fishable and swimmable" state standard.

 
 
Epsilon at WINDPOWER 2010
March 29, 2010

MAYNARD, Massachusetts, 3/29/10 - Epsilon returned to the world's largest wind energy conference, WINDPOWER 2010. The conference & exhibition was held on May 23-26 at the Dallas Convention Center in Dallas, Texas.  Epsilons Rob O'Neal, Mike Guski and Rich Lampeter manned the booth and chatted with attendees about the latest noise, shadow flicker, and transmission issues affecting the wind industry.

 

Some photos from the event:

 Epsilon at WINDPOWER 2010  WINDPOWER 2010

 

About Windpower 2010:

 WINDPOWER 2010 Conference Logo

WINDPOWER 2010 Conference and Exhibition is the only industry event that invests your dollars into advancing wind industry policy and promotion, advocating for the wind industry in renewable energy legislation, and communicating the benefits of wind energy to all.

Produced by the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), WINDPOWER is the premier wind energy event in North America, which last year hosted over 23,000 attendees and nearly 1,300 exhibitors.


 
Epsilon Helps Secure $145.5 Million Dollars in Stimulus Funding for 3 Massachusetts Transportation Projects
March 2, 2010

MAYNARD, Massachusetts - Epsilon was instrumental in demonstrating the “shovel-readiness” of three separate projects vying for federal stimulus funding to jump start the economy while advancing much-needed transportation infrastructure improvement projects throughout the state.

In late January, Epsilon was informed that the Vermonter Relocation Project, which proposes to upgrade and relocate rail lines along the so-called "Knowledge Corridor" between Springfield and Northfield in western Massachusetts was awarded $70 million in federal monies.  A team of Epsilon scientists and planners led by Epsilon Principal Laura Rome prepared portions of a draft Environmental Assessment in collaboration with the prime consultant, HDR, Inc.  Epsilon prepared information relative to cultural resources, air quality, wetlands, and rare species for a 49 mile corridor.  The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act High Speed Rail Grant was awarded under a highly competitive process, in which $57 billion worth of projects vied for $8 billion of available funds.

In mid-February, Epsilon learned that its work helped secure $75.5 million in Transportation Infrastructure Generating Economic Recover (“TIGER”) funds.  Two Epsilon projects were among the 51 projects (out of 1,380 application received) from across the country that were awarded TIGER funds.

The Fitchburg Commuter Rail Extension and Wachusett Station project was awarded $55.5 million dollars to extend the Fitchburg commuter rail line further west, proposing a new commuter rail station with immediate access to Route 2, near a former passenger depot known as Wachusett Station.  The project also includes a new MBTA layover facility and double-tracking in select locations to enable freight and passenger service to share the same corridor.  Epsilon Principal Victoria (Tory) Fletcher worked with Epsilon’s wetland and cultural resources staff to document wetland, rare species, and cultural resources impacts.  Epsilon prepared an Environmental Notification Form under the MEPA process and contributed toward a draft Environmental Assessment prepared by the prime consultant, McMahon Associates, Inc. for submission under the NEPA process.  This project was the seventh highest grant award under the TIGER program. 

A TIGER award of $20 million was awarded to the City of Revere for the Wonderland Transit –oriented development Infrastructure Project.  This Project will provide necessary public infrastructure at the terminus of the MBTA’s Blue Line, Wonderland at Revere Beach, America’s first public beach. TIGER funds will support a Transit Plaza to connect the Wonderland directly with Revere Beach, a pedestrian bridge to provide essential access for persons of limited mobility and bikes to the beach, promoting transit use, as well as increasing access to and enjoyment of Revere Beach and the surrounding area.


The complete list of projects awarded TIGER funds and associated profiles are available here: http://www.dot.gov/documents/finaltigergrantinfo.pdf.

Epsilon is proud to have contributed to the success of these three worthy projects that will help bolster the economy while reducing environmental impacts associated with single-occupancy automobile travel.

TIGER logo 
 
Construction Continues on Combined Cycle Cogeneration Plant
November 18, 2009

RENSSELAER, New York, 11/18/09 – Construction is moving along at the Besicorp/Empire Development combined 505 MW merchant power/cogeneration plant.

Epsilon provided comprehensive environmental consulting for this project, which involved a combined Article X/SEQRA EIS, a State Facility Air Permit for the cogeneration and recycled newsprint plant, a SPDES discharge permit for the plants, Article VII approvals for the gas and electric transmission lines, and an Army Corps of Engineers Section 10/404 permit for the cogeneration/recycled newsprint plants and the gas and electric lines. For the Article X process, Epsilon conducted air and noise modeling, participated in settlement negotiations, and testified on historic resources and landscape plans. 

Construction Photos, May 2007:

Construction Photos, November 2009:

Epsilon’s Energy Practice consists of a broad spectrum of permitting services for power generation plants, LNG facilities, linear facilities, district heating, substations and wind power facilities.  To learn more, click here.
 
Epsilon Projects Win NH&RA 2009 "Timmy" Awards for Historic Rehabilitation
November 9, 2009

BOSTON, MA, November 3, 2009 — The National Housing & Rehabilitation Association (NH&RA) recently presented its 2009 J. Timothy Anderson Awards for Excellence in Historic Rehabilitation to ten outstanding historic rehabilitation projects throughout the U.S.  The awards were presented at a special luncheon during NH&RA’s 2009 Annual Fall Developers Forum conference at the Taj Hotel to honor outstanding real estate projects that involved rehabilitation of older, historic buildings using the federal historic rehabilitation tax credit.

Epsilon provided state and federal tax credit filings for the following two Boston redevelopment projects, winning two of the eight award categories:

  • Best Mixed-Income Residential
    Baker Square II, Dorchester, MA
    Developer:    WinnDevelopment, Boston, MA
    Architect:     The Architectural Team, Chelsea, MA
  • Best Historic Rehabilitation Project Utilizing Low-Income Housing Tax Credits – Large
    Toward Independent Living & Learning (TILL), Chelsea, MA
    Developer:    Toward Independent Living & Learning, Dedham, MA
    Architect:     Mostue & Associates Architects, Somerville, MA

About the awards

NH&RA created the “Timmy Awards” in 2005 in memory of Boston Architect and Preservation Advocate J. Timothy Anderson. Anderson was a singular figure in the historic rehabilitation business, whose legacy includes numerous Boston area projects, as well as a seminal study that helped preserve South Beach in Miami.

For more than 37 years National Housing & Rehabilitation Association has been providing an ongoing forum for professionals in affordable housing and historic rehabilitation to exchange information and build new business relationships. For more information on the “Timmy Awards,” the Fall Developers Forum or NH&RA, please visit our website at www.housingonline.com or contact Thom Amdur, 202-939-1753, tamdur@dworbell.com.

The 2009 J. Timothy Anderson Awards for Excellence in Historic Rehabilitation are co-sponsored by the National Trust Community Investment Corporation, a subsidiary of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
 
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