A 1904 industrial building at the Charlestown Navy Yard has finally gotten its moment. Construction on a $50.2 million renovation of Building 107 kicked off this week, with the goal of turning the former Navy maintenance facility into the National Park Service's Boston headquarters. About 80 park employees are expected to end up under one roof when the work is done.
The renovation began on Monday, according to MassLive, which reports that the building is roughly 61,000 square feet and has three floors of workshops, offices and archives storage. A federal contract listing puts the footprint at 60,000 square feet, so the exact figure depends on the source. The park service took possession of the building in 1985, MassLive reports.
The building has a long working history. It served as a maintenance facility for the Navy's Public Works staff for decades and later housed National Park Service offices and archive storage, NBC Boston reports.
Who Is Paying for the Overhaul
MassLive reports that the $50.2 million is federal funding through the National Parks and Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund. That fund was created in 2020 to address deferred maintenance and repairs on properties overseen by four federal agencies. In its first five years, MassLive notes, it provided more than $175.2 million for more than 90 Massachusetts sites.
Both reports characterize the $50.2 million as federal funding, and MassLive identifies the Legacy Restoration Fund as the source. A federal contract listing describes a multiple-award IDIQ for general construction services across four New York and New Jersey zones, with proposals due November 4, 2026.
Gut Renovation, Historic Bones
The solicitation describes a comprehensive interior gut renovation that includes replacing windows, the roof, skylights, and the HVAC, fire protection, electrical and plumbing systems. The same listing says the building will remain unoccupied during construction and that the project will pursue LEED certification.
Some of the building's heritage is staying visible. MassLive reports the replacement roof will keep the original steel trusses preserved and exposed. Marble Fairbanks, the architecture firm, plans to repurpose salvaged materials from the former Hoosac Stores warehouse, which it demolished in 2024, using structural timbers for wood flooring and crushed exterior bricks for lobby walls.
What Each Floor Will Hold
The first floor will include a visitor gateway entrance, conference rooms and flexible meeting rooms, per MassLive. The second floor will carry most of the office space plus modern archives storage with specialized HVAC. The third floor is slated for offices, storage, a cafeteria, an open atrium and a lounge.
Scott Marble, a founding partner of Marble Fairbanks, says his firm began work on the project in 2017, according to MassLive. He says park staff had been spread across different Navy Yard buildings and downtown Boston, a problem the consolidation is meant to fix.
A Big Move, and Big Words
Clearing out the building was its own project. The park service made 80 trips in a 26-foot truck over three months to move archive and museum materials to four temporary storage locations, MassLive reports.
Mark Pita said the project preserves national history and supports the park service's mission for years to come, per MassLive. Gabriela Coletta Zapata, who represents the Charlestown neighborhood, said the building's history of hard work, craftsmanship and service is woven into Charlestown, according to the same report.
Boston National Historical Park spans 43 acres across downtown, Charlestown and South Boston, MassLive reports. It includes two visitor centers, at the Navy Yard and Faneuil Hall, and draws about 2.7 million visitors each year, per the National Park Service.
