Fieldhouse+ render
Fieldhouse+ is the result of a partnership between the Martin Richard Foundation, the Boys and Girls Clubs of Dorchester (BGCD), and the City of Boston.
The article below originally appeared in and is posted with permission from:
https://www.constructionequipmentguide.com
Officials from across the Boston, Mass., area came together April 17, 2025, in Dorchester, a neighborhood on the city's south end, to break ground next to heavy construction equipment on the $70 million Fieldhouse+ project, an athletics and community space complex.
The event was held with great fanfare, while also delivering a surprise announcement from Gov. Maura Healey of a new $12 million commitment to the facility's ongoing fundraising effort.
The 75,000-sq.-ft. project, to be built on a city-owned parcel along Mt. Vernon Street at Columbia Point, will combine an expansive indoor athletic facility for young people and community members with a wellness and social-emotional programming space, in addition to delivering an inclusive environment for those with physical and intellectual disabilities.
Fieldhouse+ is the result of a partnership between the Martin Richard Foundation, the Boys and Girls Clubs of Dorchester (BGCD), and the City of Boston.
Healy's announcement brought the fundraising total so far to $55 million as construction gets under way.
"I can't think of a better investment to make than this investment," she said at the ceremony. "With all the uncertainty now going on, let's take a minute and take a break and enjoy something that is awesome and good and shows what we can do when we're all rowing in the same direction."
Bill Richard, co-founder of the Martin Richard Foundation and father of the late Martin Richard — who died at the age of 8 in the terrorist attack on the 2013 Boston Marathon — was so overcome with excitement at Healey's announcement that he sprinted to the stage and gave the governor a high-five, according to the Dorchester Reporter.
It was one of many moments throughout the roughly 90-minute ceremony where tears of joy were shed in what was roundly described as a milestone moment for the neighborhood and the entire community.
"It was super-emotional for me when you called and gave us the heads up [on that commitment]," Richard later told Healy, "because I think we'd all have fallen off our chairs today if we hadn't known ahead of time. I want you to know we won't let you down, [and] we won't let the state down because this is going to be an incredible project that will change lives."
Upon hearing the news of the state's contribution, Bob Scannell, president and CEO of BGCD, said, "Wow. That changes things a little bit. I don't know what to say other than your investment to the youth of our city means we're going to get there. We may not have gotten there without that kind of infusion."
He said that Fieldhouse+ will serve all 4,000 current members of BGCD and will likely add another 5,000 young people to the mix from the adjacent Ruth Batson 7-12 Academy, all of whom will have full access during the school day to play different sports at the complex.
"All these kids here deserve to have the same access to world-class facilities as their suburban peers," he said. "It won't matter where they come from, what neighborhood they live in, how much money they have, the color of their skin or anything else, this will be a place for them. We know we can do more, and this facility will allow us to do just that."
Richard, speaking for his wife and two surviving children, noted that an indoor facility for Dorchester's kids has been a long-standing dream. Years ago, he and a friend had conjured up an idea to buy the old Ashmont Tire shop in Peabody Square and convert it into a fieldhouse, but with no funding, he said, it was unworkable at the time.
"The Fieldhouse+ was born of necessity, of parents that wanted better for their kids," he said. "We were tired and cold sitting together in worn facilities and, yes, we were envious when we went to those leafy suburbs for long weekend sports tournaments. The need was there, but it just took someone as crazy as me to say, ‘Let's go for it.' We lost Martin 12 years ago this week and obviously he would love a place like the Fieldhouse. I think of him often playing in gyms, on the baseball diamond, shooting pucks and competing [while] meeting new friends and forging memories."
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu called the new facility "game-changing, life-changing, city-changing" and will remain so for many years to come.
"We're going to keep running forward through the finish line," she said. "This Fieldhouse+ is going to be home for generations of kids who are going to turn into teenagers, who are going to turn into the leaders sitting in these seats and making the next round of changes that will shape our city for decades and generations to come."
Building Facility's Foundation to Last All Summer 2025
Dorchester's Fieldhouse+ already had full approvals and a building permit, which allowed construction to begin right away, the Reporter noted.
RODE Architects and Lee Kennedy Co., the general contractor — both of which are based in Dorchester — worked together to coordinate the design and construction of the new facility.
Lee Kennedy, the CEO of his namesake company, also serves as chair of the BGCD board and has "his very best team" working on the project, Scannell told the Dorchester Reporter.
The project's initial work will be on the foundation, including driving in pressure-injected footings to support the weight of the building. That effort will last through the summer of 2025 as fundraising continues to secure the facility's remaining $15 million.
Kennedy said that he believes his firm could possibly finish the project in 2026.
Rooftop Deck to Be Named After Long-Time BGCD Leader
A portion of the groundbreaking festivities focused on Quenette ‘Queenie' Santos, who has lived on Columbia Point for 60 years and worked as a youth development leader at BGCD for half that time. During the program, Scannell revealed that an anonymous donor had requested that the rooftop deck and garden on the Fieldhouse+ be named in her honor.
"The opportunity in that space will be amazing," said Scannell. "To me, your story is a wonderful story. For you to come though all you saw, the great stuff and not so great stuff, and now for the work you do, this anonymous donor wants to recognize you. It will be done with this very permanent space that will have your name on it."
Moved to tears, Santos said, "Thirty years ago Bob did all the hiring and I told him I would give him one year as the teen director. It's been 30 now and I wouldn't have it any other way."
