Historical Name: Pence Automobile Company Building
Common Name: Minneapolis Gas and Light Company, Lincoln National Bank and the Carmichael Lynch Advertising Agency
Address: 800 Hennepin Avenue, Minneapolis
Date Built: 1909
Size: 95,000sf
Construction schedule: 14 months
Awards: Diversified Construction was awarded a 2011 Minnesota Preservation Award by the Preservation Alliance of Minnesota and a 2011 Minneapolis Heritage Preservation Award by The Minneapolis Heritage Preservation Commission, Preserve Minneapolis and the Minneapolis Chapter of The American Institute of Architects.
Project Summary: In 2008 Diversified Construction partnered with Turnstone 800 Partners to perform a complete renovation of the historic 8 story Pence Automobile Company Building. Historic Tax Credits were used to fund part of the approximately $7,000,000 project. The scope of work included a complete renovation of the building to make the space suitable for multi-tenant use. Interior work included demolishing the interior spaces of each floor to create wide, open floor plans throughout the building, building new ADA compliant restrooms on each floor, replacing the existing elevator equipment and cabs with completely new equipment while utilizing the existing machine rooms and shaft and updating the mechanical and electrical systems as necessary throughout. Exterior work included tuck-pointing and replacing brick as necessary and replacing 250 windows.
Due to the project receiving historic tax credits it was paramount to meet the Historical Preservation Requirements for the new windows, exterior improvements and interior detail work. This involved sourcing specialty subcontractors that were able to replicate original design elements of the building but using modern day materials and techniques.
Due to the buildings’ inclusion on the Historical Registrar, The National Park Service Board’s heavy involvement ensured the historical elements of the building were preserved. This involved sourcing specialty subcontractors that were able to replicate original design elements of the building but using modern day materials and techniques. The Board’s design criteria not only included exterior components such as matching the original window profiles but interior spaces were held to meet certain criteria as well Meeting these criteria led to several revisions of the plans. Diversified worked continuously with the Developer (Turnstone 800 Partners) and the building Architect (Cunningham Group) in establishing budgets based on these requirements from the board and other rapidly changing visions from the design team. Diversified Construction was also able to offer great value by offering value engineering ideas throughout this pre-construction phase of the project.
Diversified Construction was integral in developing the cost/budgets, scheduling, and identifying issues and solutions that were presented during the course of the project. We contracted with experienced subcontractors and suppliers to incorporate the many details necessary to meet the historical requirements of the building. We also worked closely with Hess Roise Company to ensure we were in compliance to receive the historical tax credits available.
Diversified Construction was later awarded contracts to perform tenant buildouts for the following companies within the building: Art Institute International Minnesota, Meritas, Parameters, The Sartell Group, Modern Climate and Wieden & Kennedy. Based on Diversified’s knowledge of the building and the requirements of the Historical Committees, we were also commissioned to help architects and tenants working in other spaces of the building during their conceptual design phases.
