Residents in Groton, MA (pop. 10,873), won’t have to go far to hear the sweet sound of music. Within a few years, they will be able to hear live professional performances with the completion of the new, 125,000-sq.-ft. Indian Hill Music school and performance center.
Groton is situated approximately 45 miles northwest of Boston, surrounded by rural communities and farm fields. The current Indian Hill Music center was built 30 years ago and is only one of a few nonprofit organizations nationwide that offers a community music school, professional orchestra, professional concert series and community outreach program. As a popular gathering place for community members and musicians, the facility had quickly outgrown its needs and could not keep up with the 79 neighboring communities and more than 1,200 students who attend.
To remedy this issue, the board of directors decided in August 2016 to purchase 110 acres of farmland and to build a new community center. The project is scheduled for completion in 2020, which will coincide with the organization’s 35th anniversary.
A Challenging Composition
Building a two-story, world-class facility featuring a 1,000-seat indoor performance center with the ability to open to lawn seating for another 1,300 seats, plus a 300-seat recital hall, is no easy feat. To help bring the project to fruition, Gary Shepherd, owner of ShepCo Inc., was chosen as the construction project manager. Shepherd started ShepCo as a family-owned industrial, commercial, and residential excavating and site preparation company based in Townsend, MA, and eventually took on projects along the eastern seaboard. Nowadays, Shepherd is back to his roots, focusing on provincial work in Massachusetts.
“This project has significance to the community, so I felt like I would like to be a part of it,” Shepherd says.
Before starting the multi-year Indian Hill project, Gary Shepherd, ShepCo Inc., decided it was time to upgrade his current fleet of heavy construction equipment. He chose to make the switch to Doosan excavators and wheel loaders.
“The biggest challenge we faced so far on this job has been the weather and the soil,” Shepherd says.
Shepherd says his steel-tracked Doosan crawler excavators and wheel loaders were the only feasible solution to power through the jobsite and move material. “In Spring 2017, we had so much rain that we thought we would have to stop working until the ground dried up,” he says. “But the crew kept going. It was impressive.”
“The biggest expense that I have on a jobsite or in my business is labor,” Shepherd says. “When our equipment is not working effectively, it’s costing us a lot of money. With Doosan equipment, there is no question that the machines will perform well. They keep my guys working so we can continue to produce quality projects. We take pride in these machines.”
[VIDEO] Indian Hill Music Center Project Prompts Shepco to Add Nine Doosan Earthmovers
Ending on a Natural Note
Currently, excavating, site grading, subgrade prep and finish grading is ongoing. If the weather cooperates, the company hopes to work in Spring 2018 to finish its portions, which include installing the footings and prepare the foundations. From there, the company will proceed with construction of the two-story music center. The project could take up to four years until completion.
“The goal of this project is to create an environment that, when you get to the site, you’re completely submersed,” Shepherd says. “You won’t be lost and confused by what’s going on around you. You won’t hear highway traffic and noise and see other houses. You’ll see apple trees and fields, grass and trees. It’ll be nature.”
