COURTESY OF WWW. NANTUCKET-MA.GOV
NANTUCKET – The new $120 million Nantucket Cottage Hospital is just months away from completion and architects on the project say that the facility is being constructed to withstand a category five hurricane.
Officials say that the more than 100,000 square foot facility is being built to comply with the strictest hurricane design specifications in the country – beyond those required by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Jason Graziadei, the hospital’s Public Information Officer, explained that it is important to be prepared.
“We’re out here 30 miles at sea, and thankfully you know we haven’t had a direct hit but that that’s not to say that’s not a possibility,” he said “We certainly have our fair share of nor’easters in the winter and the possibility of a hurricane coming our way.”
As part of the construction, crews used 5-by-5 foot mesh-fortified concrete pilings, storm-rated windows, and a reinforced building shell to ensure stability.
Inside the building there are both digital and analog phone lines to ensure off-island communication is reliable.
The new building will be about 106,000 square feet on two floors and wraps around the former building.
A grand opening for the new Nantucket Cottage Hospital is planned for late this year.
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