Knutson Celebrates Grand Opening of Target Field Station

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Minneapolis, Minn. — Knutson Construction recently celebrated the grand opening of Target Field Station. Connecting transit with culture, the new multi-modal hub and public plaza will provide an iconic gateway to Target Field Stadium, home of the Minnesota Twins.

Hennepin County selected Knutson Construction in May 2012 as part of the multidisciplinary, design-build team working closely with Perkins Eastman and New York-based architect Peter Cavaluzzi, FAIA. Target Field Station is a project of Hennepin County, the Hennepin County Regional Railroad Authority and the Hennepin County Housing and Redevelopment Authority. A mix of federal, state and local sources funded the $79.3-million project. More than half of the project is funded by local government.

“We are proud to celebrate the many partnerships that led to Target Field Station’s success. From concept through completion, our team managed more than 120 onsite contractors to complete the project on time and on budget,” said Dave Bastyr, Knutson Construction’s executive vice president. “This high-profile project will function as a distinctive urban park, transit station and neighborhood gathering space serving the Twin Cities for years to come.”

Target Field Station will welcome 40,000 visitors attending the 2014 Major League Baseball All-Star Game in July 2014. For game day broadcasts and other events, the 29-by-16-foot video board installed on top of the elevator core can be viewed from the Great Lawn and upper plaza. The entire canopy above the Light Rail Transit station platform has enhanced programmable LED lights that can change to any color, beckoning commuters and non-commuters alike.

This new distinctive public space will connect 500 trains daily from the Metro Blue LRT (Hiawatha), Metro Green Line LRT (Central Corridor), Northstar Commuter Rail and the future Metro Green Line LRT extension (Southwest). Target Field Station’s more than 104,000 square feet of space also includes a public plaza for year-round special events and activities, green space, a 1,000-seat amphitheater, office space and retail shops, a 286-car underground parking structure and a transit police facility.

The project broke ground on July 9, 2012 and then proceeded through two of the worst winters in Minnesota’s history. Despite the weather-related difficulties, the project recorded zero lost time accidents with more than 250,550 hours of construction labor. It also significantly exceeded goals monitored by the Minnesota Department of Human Rights in Disadvantage Business Enterprise, female and minority participation and Workforce Entry Program new hires and labor hours.

Hennepin County seeks certification from both the State of Minnesota’s B3 Guidelines and the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Rating System for Target Field Station’s innovative design that reduces environmental impact. The all-season public plaza’s surfaces will remain clear in winter thanks to more than 23 miles of tubing installed as part of an integrated snow melting system that utilizes excess heat generated by the adjacent Hennepin Energy Recovery Center energy plant. Knutson completed construction on the HERC’s 29,430-square-foot building in November 2013.

Within Target Field Station’s landscape will grow 5,422 flowering native plant bulbs, 150 trees and 1,300 shrubs. The site’s natural topography, along with its natural filtering properties and new high-performance streetscape along 5th and 6th Streets, funnels stormwater runoff into a series of cisterns and underground storage systems capable of holding 40,000 gallons. Collected water then is returned to the HERC as part of an initiative by the Watershed District and in support of the project’s sustainability goals.

Some of Target Field Station’s other notable quantities and accomplishments include :

  • 8,132 linear feet, approximate length of the LRT station’s canopy fins
  • 26,000 cubic feet, approximate volume of geofoam used on the project
  • 12,000 yards of concrete placed by Knutson Construction
  • 30 miles of electrical conduit installed
  • 20 miles of pile driven
  • 1,300,000 pounds of rebar installed

In addition to Knutson Construction, key members of the Target Field Station team include :

  • Hennepin County, owner and developer of property
  • Interchange Project Office, broker for owner
  • Perkins Eastman, architect and interior designer
  • Palanisami & Associates, structural engineer
  • Buildings Consulting Group, Inc., structural design consultants
  • SEH, Inc., civil engineer
  • EVS, land surveyor
  • Pierce Pini & Associates, Inc., civil engineering consultants
  • OLIN, landscape architect
  • SYSTRA, rail transit consultants
  • M-P Consultants, electrical engineering consultants
  • TKDA, bridge designer
  • Bloom Companies, LLC, civil engineer
  • Rani Engineering, civil engineer
  • Michaud Cooley Erickson, mechanical engineer
  • Bussell Companies, Inc., lighting, power and communication designer
  • Carl Bolander & Sons Co., specialty contractors
  • Lunda Construction Co., bridge construction contractor
  • Parsons Corporation, electrical engineer
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