Top Project Honors for Walsh Bishop
Finance and Commerce recently awarded “Top Project” honors to two Walsh Bishop projects: Norman Pointe II and CW Lofts. According to Finance and Commerce Editor Michael Krieger, these awards are the first in what is planned to be an annual tradition of honors for MInnesota’s most innovative developers, contractors and architects.
Norman Pointe II is a class “A” speculative multi-tenant office building and the first in Minnesota to achieve LEED Core and Shell certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. The building is a ten-story, 322,000 square foot building constructed with a precast and clear glass curtain wall. In fact, one of the design priorities was to allow plenty of natural light to reach the interior of each floor. This serves the dual purpose of providing energy conservation along with more pleasant work areas. Other factors that resulted in the LEED certification include recycling rooms on each floor and wood materials that meet Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) guidelines.
This next generation office building has been designed to be more energy efficient and provide healthier work environments with leading edge technology. Each tenant and guest enters the building through an indoor park that includes a five-story waterfall. The park’s amenties include seating areas complete with WI-FI and flat screen TVs intended to allow business meetings to be held in more comfortable environments. The indoor park is directly connected to the walking trails that traverse the entire development.
When the Cream of Wheat headquarters and manufacturing plant in northeast Minneapolis packed up in 2002, it left an empty building that quickly fell into disrepair. This turned around when an enterprising renovation team set out to transform the aging landmark into stylish, contemporary condominiums that are now known as the CW Lofts.
This historic four-story building and 135-foot tower was built initially in 1927. The rehabilitated site preserves and enhances a historic resource and creates a sustainable urban environment while retaining it’s unique character. The site now provides 124 condominiums, common spaces, offices and parking. The highly detailed lobby and office spaces in the existing building have been restored and include a gallery dedicated to the story of the site and company. This redevelopment and renovation maintains the Cream of Wheat legacy and creates a dynamic community through the use of spaces in the building that could never be replicated with new construction.
