About This Project
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Location
Minneapolis
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Size
75,000 sq ft
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Year Completed
2012
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Architect
Tushie Montgomery
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Market Sector
Multi-Unit Residential
Greiner was brought in to provide Pre-Construction and Construction services on Solhaus, an apartment complex at the heart of the University of Minnesota campus with forward-thinking green/sustainable features. Solhaus has local owners–including present and former U of M students and professors–committed to building thoughtfully for the future.
The Solhaus project represents a clean-up of the former Gopher Oil Superfund site, which has polluted the water table and neighboring properties for over 80 years and is the culmination of a three-year collaboration between a private developer, the city of Minneapolis, Hennepin County, DEED, and the MPCA. Solhaus exemplifies a transformation from industrial waste site to 75 units of sustainable green housing.
Some of the sustainable design elements include:
- Organic trash disposal
- A rainwater cistern
- Dual flush toilets
- A parking matrix system
- A green roof and terraces
- Convenient bike storage
- Passive solar design
- An on-site Hour Car
- Electric vehicle stalls
- LED and fluorescent lighting
- Locally sourced construction materials
Solhaus is so much more than any other campus apartment building. Solhaus is addressing the lack of high-quality housing for the undergrad and MBA students in the middle of Stadium Village. This has been evident through the high volume of internet/model traffic and rental agreements.
Some of the apartment building features include:
- Heated and secured parking
- An exercise room
- A fireside study for all residents and guests
- Building-wide Wi-Fi
- Cell phone operated door entrance system
- Recycling and organic composting on every floor
- Granite surfaces
- Large open room layouts with floor-to-ceiling windows
- Natural textures, contemporary colors, cutting-edge details, and lots and lots of light
Working diligently with the tight schedule and a zero-lot-line site, the team worked through many difficult challenges, such as the re-mediating of 20,000 tons of contaminated soils, a winter construction, aging city sewer, and water connections, and having only 130 feet of access to one side of the building.