When you think of innovation, a drink company doesn’t automatically spring to mind. But Culture Pop Soda is driving change in the soft drink industry, delivering a probiotic soda made with organic fruit juices and real spices and herbs. When the company needed to expand its corporate headquarters to accommodate its growth, it chose 64 Pleasant Street in Watertown.
Purchased by Berkeley Investments in 2021, 64 Pleasant Street is a 160-year-old mill and industrial building that has served in the paper, manufacturing, printing and laundry service industries during its 160 years. Berkeley is redeveloping the 105,000-SF building into a hub of innovation, attracting life sciences and other forward-thinking companies.
Having worked with Berkeley on many projects at the Watch Factory in Waltham, Vantage Builders was their choice to build out Culture Pop’s new, 5,000-SF headquarters. The project began with a preconstruction agreement, with the Vantage team providing design-build services. Key to the project was designing a MEP layout that would highlight the beautiful, exposed post-and-beam original construction of the building, to give Culture Pop an eye-catching space. This required consolidating as much of the above-ceiling MEP as possible over the rooms that would have ceilings – the conference, huddle and phone rooms. 
The layout is very open, allowing for communication and collaboration among the Culture Pop team. There is a new kitchenette and breakroom, a lounge area, and a welcoming reception area and all the rooms feature demountable glass fronts. The team removed several of the large external windows to allow for accepting materials directly into the third floor space, in order to complete the project with minimal disruption to the building’s other tenant, Via Separations, an MIT-backed venture that has developed a cost-effective, innovative membrane for industrial separations.
“There are so many beautiful, historical buildings throughout New England and it’s always a pleasure to have the opportunity to work in them,” said John Connor, principal, Vantage Builders. “It’s also great to work with innovative companies like Culture Pop Soda. This project was a great blend of the forward-thinking and historical.”
The project team included architects SGA.
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