The Forbes Building is a major affordable housing preservation project in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts. Originally constructed in 1978, the building has long served as an important residential anchor for the Jamaica Plain community. The renovation project is intended to preserve and rehabilitate the existing 8-story residential building, which includes approximately 147 apartments, ground-floor community/commercial space, and related resident amenity areas. Public project information identifies the overall development as approximately 133,000 square feet of gross floor area.

Engineering Fire Protection, LLC provided fire protection engineering and code consulting support to help the project team move the renovation forward. EFP’s services included fire sprinkler system design, fire alarm system engineering, construction administration support, NFPA 241 construction fire safety planning, and building/fire code consulting to assist the architectural team during design coordination.

A key value EFP brought to the project was developing a cost-effective and practical fire protection design strategy for an existing occupied building undergoing major rehabilitation. EFP evaluated the existing fire protection infrastructure and developed a design approach that eliminated the need to maintain the existing fire pump system, helping reduce future maintenance burden, operating cost, and reliability concerns. By coordinating sprinkler and fire alarm upgrades with the architectural renovation, EFP helped support permitting, construction phasing, long-term life safety, and the broader community goal of preserving affordable housing in Jamaica Plain.