The Target Center with a Green Roof?

It is no secret that the residents and officials in the City of Minneapolis (and St. Paul!) have been on the forefront of adopting green technologies and taking care of its green spaces.  After all, with the 10,000 lakes that we have, it’s important to take steps to preserve the natural resources that make our state it such a great place to live.  As I’ve covered previously, those practices trickle over into green building construction and design, particularly when it comes to eco-friendly new come construction.

Well, Minneapolis is taking yet another step towards bettering the environment.  AEG, the nation's most powerful facilities management firm and the arena management for Minneapolis' Target Center, has begun drumming up bids for an effort to renovate the Target Center.  The upgrades to the building that could cost upwards of $40 million.

Part of the plans for the renovation include a 115,000 square foot green roof.  The proposed $4 million project would create the largest green roof in Minneapolis and one of the largest in the nation. The Target Center’s green roof would potentially lower costs for cooling the structure, reduce the need and costs associated with storm water management, and have an expected life of 40 years, or about 20 years longer than a normal roof.

Several options exist for the roof, including using a two-inch growing layer to cover the entire building or a combination of deeper growing layers with sections of conventional roof. AEG became the arena manager for the 18-year-old Target Center. The City of Minneapolis is the owner of the building, while AEG has been hired to make the building competitive with St. Paul's Xcel Energy Center.

At this point, the environmentally friendly green roof has been designed by Kestrel Design Group. You can see what it may look like here.

Discussion

#1 By Sue Massey at 12/23/2013 0:43 AM

I found your site on Google and read a few of your other entires. Nice Stuff. I'm looking forward to reading more from you.

#2 By Skylar at 12/23/2013 0:43 AM

It's nice to see that we are noticing some economical benefits from green technologies. It's a lot easier to convince people to invest in a green roof when it poses financial benefits as well as the obvious environmental benefits.

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