Solhaus Apartments

Solhaus is an apartment complex at the heart of the University of Minnesota campus with green/sustainable features. Solhaus has local owners committed to building thoughtfully for the future. The owners include present and former U of M students and professors.

Solhaus 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 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. A small representation of the sustainable design include; organic trash disposal, rain water custern, dual flush toilets, parking matrix system, green roof at terraces, convenient bike storage, passive solar design, on-site hour car, electric vehicle stalls, led and fluorescent lighting, walking distance to classes, errands and entertainment, LRT service, and 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 features include: heated and secured parking, exercise room, 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, and every Solhaus green apartment mixes 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 also worked through many other difficult challenges including; re-mediating of 20,000 tons of contaminated soils, winter construction, aging city sewer and water connections, and only 130’ of access to one side of the building.