“Working with the developer and architectural team, we accomplished the ‘impossible’ - building a foundation, working through the winter, and delivering the finished project ahead of a very challenging completion date.”

– HARRY ANGEVINE, MARATHON CEO

PROJECT: Whole Foods

LOCATION: Cambridge, MA

YEAR: 2002

SQUARE FOOTAGE: 53,426

Constructed on a lot once deemed unbuildable, Marathon’s innovative construction techniques paved the way for a new two-story Whole Foods supermarket. The design made efficient use of the small space by reserving the entire first story for parking and deliveries below the retail floor.

What made the project so challenging? The primary Massachusetts Water Resources Authority sewer line servicing Boston ran directly under the building. We had to drive piles in a very delicate manner to support the building without disrupting the existing pipeline. How did we do it? We placed seismographs on the pipeline itself to monitor pile driving vibrations.