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…