In 2004, the ABCD property at the corner of Claybourne Street and Park Street in Boston’s Dorchester neighborhood caught fire and most of the interior was lost. As a local Service Center, the facility provided social services, after school programs and daycare in a circuitous but acceptable building.

Richard Alvord Architects worked with the ABCD staff, property services and their contractor to renovate the interior of the building. Except for the removal of a large stage area and the addition of a new basement entry, the exterior remains as it did before the fire. As the previous interior was constructed ad-hoc over many years of use, the new interior would have to meet current building codes for accessibility and safety. As a design-build fast track project, Richard Alvord Architects had to tackle design and structure changes quickly and deftly while communicating sometimes complex issues between parties to ensure structural, aesthetic and code issues were all met.

The new interior has new egress stairs, LULA elevator, new offices and conference space, new after school program areas and classroom space, all designed to allow multiple groups to use the building easily and without disruption. Plumbing and electrical closets were stack on each other to allow for simplified service while circulation was minimized and centrally located to allow for quick arrival at programmed space.