Representatives of the U.S. General Services Administration and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) join the Massachusetts institute of Technology and others Tuesday for a ribbon cutting on the U.S. DOT John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center.
The center, a $750 million 10-year project, is a state-of-the-art facility dedicated to “transforming transportation access for all” across all modes of transit, official said. Since its founding in 1970, the center has looked “beyond the horizon to anticipate emerging and future transportation challenges,” officials said.
“Since its establishment in 1970, the Volpe Center has been the engine for research, innovation and deployment for U.S. DOT and beyond. The experts who come to work every day for Volpe are an integral part of the DOT family,” U.S. Under Secretary of Transportation for Policy Carlos Monje, Jr. said. “And, after long last, Volpe has a headquarters worthy of its critical mission, its brilliant staff and its strategic location.”
Officials said conversations started in 2012 between the DOT and GSA in regard to redevelopment of the DOT’s 14 acres in the Kendall Square area of Cambridge. Five years later, GSA entered into a first-of-its-kind agreement with MIT to design and construct the low-emissions building as a new home for the Volpe Center on four of those 14 acres. In exchange, the federal government agreed to convey the remaining 10 acres to MIT for mixed-use development.
“As we manage the nearly 370 million square feet in our federal buildings portfolio, we’re always looking to deliver great value for our agency partners, local communities, and the American public,” GSA Administrator Robin Carnahan said. “This was a unique opportunity to make smart investments in sustainability, empower the federal workforce, and ensure that federal buildings remain vital parts of the communities around them.”
The new facility will replace the Volpe Center’s existing buildings and surface parking lots with a highly energy efficient, climate resilient structure that will house multiple agencies. The new facility is expected to reduce emissions by more than 50 percent and achieve LEED Platinum certification. It will feature triple-paned glass, heat recovery chillers, electric vehicle charging stations, a rainwater reclamation and reuse system, green and cool roof technology including a rooftop solar array and an Advanced Building Automation System to optimize energy use.
The Center is 100 percent funded by sponsored projects and even though most of the work is sponsored by DOT, it also lends key technical support to more than a dozen other federal agencies including the U.S. Department of Defense, NASA, the U.S. Department of the Interior and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, as well as other state and local governments.