The Origin Story

The B.F. Sturtevant Co. arrived in the Readville section of Hyde Park as the largest industrial fan manufacturer in the world, situating their works in a strategic location. Abutting an industrial waterway and near the juncture of three important railroads, they had access to a large pool of skilled workmen and excellent transportation.

Built by renowned mill architects Lockwood, Green and Co, the sprawling ten building, twenty acre complex was highly integrated and self-sufficient with onsite foundry, forge and machine shops.

An internal network of overhead cranes, small gauge track, a team of horses and a workforce of 1500 were utilized to move product throughout the plant.

Building C, now The Lofts at Westinghouse condominiums, was the original fan building (1903 -1919), all fans were built here with a portion of the 2nd oor removed for needed extra height in constructing the largest mechanical draft fans. The moving of the foundry offsite in 1919 changed the product mix to a variety of small fans, coils and, after 1945, the Westinghouse Precipitron.

By the mid-1970s, the building was mostly vacant with some fan welding still occurring. The tapered brickwork extending out along the west wall are heater ues that were part of the original ventilating system.

The Build Out

In 2001, Motherbrook LLC acquired the Plaza.

The Lofts project was promoted by former Mayor Menino, City Counselor Rob Consalvo, a Readville Neighborhood committee, and the Boston Redevelopment Association to bring condominiums and Artist housing to Hyde Park.

The construction was completed in December of 2009, and the first unit was sold in March of 2010.

The Solar Panel Update

In 2014, several Loft owners asked the Board of Managers to investigate the concept of “greening” the building by adding solar power to the building.

This began a two year project that went live in late 2016.

The goal of the project was to add a capital improvement to the building that would provide power through a renewable resource, while adding value to the condo properties.

The project will help prevent 179 metric tons of carbon dioxide from being emitted into the atmosphere. 179 metrics tons is roughly the amount that would be produced by burning over 20,000 gallons of gasoline.

Now

One Westinghouse Plaza is an interesting area because of the fact that it is a mixed-use facility. This means that there are both commercial and residential owners within the property.