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1 EXTREME MODEL RAILROAD AND CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTURE MUSEUM, INC. WESTERN GATEWAY HERIAGE STATE PARK BUILDING ONE 115 STATE ST NORTH ADAMS, MA P R E S S R E L E A S E SKANSKA USA AND GILBANE BUILDING ANNOUNCED AS PROJECT AND CONSTRUCTION MANAGERS FOR NORTH ADAMS MUSEUM PROJECT (NORTH ADAMS, MASS: 8 APRIL 2018) Thomas Krens, Chairman of the EMRCA, Inc. Planning and Finance Committee, announced that EMRCA Inc. has signed agreements with Skanska USA and the Gilbane Building Company to take the new museum project through the construction phase. The concept for the Extreme Model Railroad and Contemporary Architecture Museum was announced by Mr. Krens and former Massachusetts Governors Michael Dukakis and William Weld in December EMRCA Inc. was incorporated in early 2016 to develop the plans and detail the building, its content, and its spatial and technical requirements. On 1 September 2017 Frank Gehry was announced as the architect for the building. Skanska will function as the Project Manager, coordinating the activities of the designer, the construction manager, and the EMRCA teams during both the design and construction process. Gilbane will be responsible for constructing the new museum on time, within budget, and in accordance with the final design documents. The EMRCA museum has been designed as a precision-scale narrative history of international architecture from the 1880s to the present, and will feature more than 150 masterpiece buildings by 71 world-class architects (including 34 Pritzker prize winners) in the context of an urban environment of more than 1200 scale model buildings. The installation will also feature more than 100 precision O-scale locomotive models documenting the history of American railroads, operating on 9.5 miles of two-rail track on twelve separate lines throughout the 700 foot long, 83,000 square foot building. The architecture and the railroads will be contextualized by a 30 foot high, 1,440 foot long

2 continuous and seamless rear screen video projection to provide natural and urban landscape depth and atmosphere throughout the installation. Mr. Krens said that Perri Petricca, President of Unistress Corporation in Pittsfield and a member of the EMRCA Board of Directors, was instrumental in coordinating the discussions and negotiations with George Swetz, Executive Vice President and General Manager at Skanska, and Ryan Hutchins, Senior Vice President and Regional Manager at Gilbane, to develop the plan to bring the EMRCA to fruition. Since late last year, Perri s role in communicating with Skanska and Gilbane on our behalf, and helping us frame the building program in the most cost-efficient manner, has been an asset of incalculable value, Mr. Krens said. Mr. Petricca s vast experience in the construction business at the highest levels, and his aggressively pragmatic approach, have enabled us to give a concrete foundation to the plans that we believe will be transformative for northwestern Massachusetts. Skanska and Gilbane bring considerable professional experience to the EMRCA project. The firms have been in business for a combined total of 275 years, and have an impressive record of partnering on projects, including several in western Massachusetts. Gilbane, one of the largest constructions firms in country, was founded in 1873 and is headquartered in Providence, RI. The Gilbane Building Company is the 78 th largest private company in the US, with $4.9 billion in revenues in 2016, and was the construction manager for the recently completed expansion of MASS MoCA. Gilbane has completed nearly 30 museum projects, including the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, the Cleveland Museum, and the Norton Museum of Art in Palm Beach. Skanska, headquartered in Stockholm, is the fifth largest construction company in the world, with 42,000 employees and $12 billion in annual revenues. Skanska USA is one of the largest and most financially sound construction and development companies in the country with $6.8 billion in revenues and more than 10,000 employees in the US. With expertise in construction, civil infrastructure, public-private partnerships and commercial development initiatives in select US markets, Skanska includes among its current and recent projects the

3 reconstruction of the Harvard Art Museums, the World Trade Center Transportation Hub, MetLife Stadium, the new Moynihan Penn Station in New York, and the Stetson- Sawyer Library project at Williams College. The Extreme Model Railroad and Contemporary Architecture Museum is the critical initial component of a public private partnership cultural master plan for the City of North Adams that the EMRCA team has been developing for the past two years. The Heritage Park component, located between the southern boundary of MASS MoCA and the northern edge of the EMRCA, has been designed by architects GluckmanTang of New York. It includes the Massachusetts Museum of Time, a craft distillery, and two restaurants. The master plan also calls for three other museums, the creation of a downtown park and commons, a luxury hotel and wellness center on Main Street designed by Pritzker prize winning architect Jean Nouvel, the renovation of the Mohawk Theater, and a municipal parking garage. Funding for both the Heritage Park Master Plan and for the Audience and Economic Impact Analysis of EMRCA-- produced by Prof. Stephen Sheppard and the Center for Creative Community Development-- was provided the State of Massachusetts through the MASS Works Infrastructure Program in The conclusions of Prof. Sheppard s analysis anticipate between 500,000 and 750,000 visitors per year to the Extreme Model Railroad and Contemporary Architecture Museum, which would generate between 1,300 and 2,007 permanent jobs, and between $113 Million and $169 million annually for the Berkshire County economy. For additional information contact: Ben Sosne Senior Project Manager EMRCA Inc. 115 State Street North Adams, MA bsosne@emrcagroup.com

4 Heritage Park: Craft Distillery & MASS Museum of Time MASS MoCA EMRCA / Extreme Model Railroad and Contemporary Architecture Museum MASS VR Museum Municipal Parking Garage & Events Space Luxury Hotel & Wellness Center North Adams Central Park and Commons MASS Art of the Motorcycle Museum

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