Completion of Wellesley Sports Center Slated for Spring 2019

BEDFORD, Mass., Dec. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ESG Associates today announced that the Wellesley Sports Center is now slated to open with full occupancy in the Spring 2019, instead of phasing it over a 6-month period. This shift in timeline is due to complications that have arisen from bad weather, and the inability to secure gas service to the site. More than 1,200 National Grid gas workers have been locked out since June — delaying non-emergency gas service projects, including natural gas service to the facility — which was originally set for a December 2018 partial occupancy. The updated project timeline is dependent upon completion of gas installation by March 2019.

“Natural gas is essential for everything from heating the buildings and hot water to running the dehumidifiers for the ice rinks,” said Brian DeVellis, President of ESG Associates Inc. “Even as we move forward with construction of the Wellesley Sports Center, completion of the project will be delayed until we can get gas service installed. We’re hopeful that lockout-related negotiations will reach a resolution soon.”

ESG Associates attempted to get gas line installed under an emergency measure to allow for the rink portion of the facility to open under a temporary occupancy this month, but after the Merrimack Valley gas line explosions in September and the October scare in Woburn, the state DPU ordered a moratorium on all gas work by National Grid. Without a clear understanding of when the lockout and the moratorium will end, ESG is now targeting a full-facility occupancy in early spring.

Upon completion, the Wellesley Sports Center will be a 130,000 square foot state-of-the-art sport and recreation destination, housing twin ice sheets, an indoor synthetic turf field with elevated track, a warm lesson pool and a 13 lane / 25 yard competition pool, a strength and conditioning center, sports pro-shop, full service concessions and ancillary tenants. It is conveniently located on Worcester Street (Route 9 eastbound) in Wellesley, MA, minutes from Interstate 95 and the Massachusetts Turnpike and less than 30 minutes from Boston. 

ESG Associates is developing and will manage the facility upon its opening.

About ESG Associates Inc (EDGE Sports Group)
ESG Associates Inc. is a leader in the design, development and operations of public and private recreational facilities. The company brings over 25 years of private and public recreational design experience and offers the full gamut of strategic and operational services. ESG helps clients navigate public processes at the local, state and federal levels; works with private capital and conventional lenders to obtain financing; and establishes the programming and operational framework required to sustain the model. Services include: assessment, feasibility and market studies; design, permit and construction management; programming and operations.

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