Hot Property: Hagfors Center for Science, Business and Religion in Minneapolis

Address: 628 21st Av. S., Minneapolis

Type: Academic

Size: 135,000 square feet

Developer: Augsburg College

Architect: HGA Architects

General contractor: McGough Construction

Details: An April 29 groundbreaking has been set for Augsburg College's new Hagfors Center for Science, Business and Religion, a four-story classroom, lab and office building designed to be the centerpiece of a campuswide renewal effort.

The Hagfors Center will be the college's new home for departments that include biology, business, chemistry, computer science, math, physics, psychology and religion. The inclusion of scientific and religious disciplines within the same building is meant to express "a firm belief in the intersections and fluidity of boundaries" on Augsburg's campus.

Its centerpiece is a glass-walled, three-story commons area, topped by a small suspended chapel.

The three full stories of classrooms, offices and laboratories have been designed for flexibility and exposure to natural light.

Augsburg's campuswide plan next envisions replacing the existing Science Hall with green space and converting a vacated stretch of 21st Avenue into a pedestrian mall.