Minneapolis American Indian Center Renovation/Expansion

Honoring Community and Sustainability Through Thoughtful Civil Design Practices.

Location: 1530 East Franklin Avenue, Minneapolis MN
Client: Cuningham
Service: Civil
Construction Cost: $35,000,000

BKBM’s Civil Group joined the design team selected to renovate and expand the dated 1974 Minneapolis American Indian Center. The project was tasked to also meet the stringent MN B3 requirements for sustainability. BKBM's civil design included redesigning existing parking and pedestrian spaces, updating building sewers, and a new stormwater management system. The designed stormwater management system will restore the site to pre-development runoff conditions, restoring the stormwater to natural conditions.

In addition to the design requirements, the team also had to preserve existing site features, including an existing ceremonial ring of trees, and reduce the amount of trees lost due to construction. BKBM accomplished this by calling for the use of directional bore utility installation, through close coordination with our landscape architect partners at Cunningham Group, and a detailed site investigation of existing sewers. These considerations allowed the contractor to install new utilities while minimizing impacts on the existing trees and utility infrastructure.

The stormwater management system, in combination with a site design that minimized tree impact, allowed the project to meet the City of Minneapolis and B3 sustainability requirements, honoring the project’s themes of sustainability and community.

To learn more about this project contact BKBM's Project Manager Keith Matte.