Minneapolis unveils plans for new public works depot

Address: 340 27th Av. NE.

Type: Municipal, industrial

Size: 142,000 square feet

Developer: City of Minneapolis

Architect: HCM Architects

Details: The city's new East Side Storage and Maintenance Facility is closer to a groundbreaking after a complex set of rezonings and the awarding of a water runoff management grant.

Bids for the northeast Minneapolis public works facility were still being accepted this month, but the city's Planning Commission lent the project its blessing by approving measures to bring the assembled site along University Avenue into a "medium industrial" zoning classification.

Existing buildings on the site are being demolished to make way for the new 142,000-square-foot facility, an equipment maintenance facility/garage for public vehicles. It will be used by the Minneapolis Public Works Department to combine the operations of several of its divisions together under one roof.

The LEED-certified project also received a boost with the award of a $550,000 grant from the Mississippi Watershed Management Organization, whose focus is on reducing the amount of polluted runoff water reaching the river.

With the new facility located less than a mile from the Mississippi, the agency helped pay for the addition of stormwater "best management practices" on the site to ensure that activities such as vehicle washing and road salt storage don't impact the watershed.