Category: Project

Indian Hill High School needed an Earth Retention System to support a new sports complex which included a tennis court, sidewalks, and sports facility. For this concept to become a reality, structures worked alongside with Megan Construction Company, Inc and the Kleingers group to form a solution by using our big block wall system consisting of Recon rustic weathered edge products. This provided an integrated retention/ free standing system resulting in a functional and durable new sports complex.

Job: Indian Hill High School
City: Cincinnati, OH
General Contractor: Megen Construction Company, Inc.
PM: Dave Landwehr
Supervisor:  Chad Haefner

Structures worked along side Miron Construction on a new YMCA facility for the Wisconsin Rapids community. Once an obsolete and mostly vacant downtown mall, the new YMCA is now a lively accessible facility convenient to several nearby low-income communities.

The challenge presented was how to manage storm water in a cost-efficient manner while following local ordinance. Structures solved this by installing a permeable paver system in the majority of parking stalls. This allows the water to trap and slowly release into the ground rather then having running water go through the parking lot and into the storm drains. Wit Wisconsin’s unpredictable weather, a permeable paver system will aid the facility by lessening the amount of water and snow that resides on the pavers.

The speed and efficiency with machine laying the pavers was appealing not only in cost but also to the project schedule. By using a machine set application and Structures manpower, they were able to complete the project in five days where hand installing the pavers would have taken twenty days. this allowed other trades to complete their scope of work earlier, helping the overall completion date to be reduced.

Job: YMCA
City: Wisconsin Rapids, WI
General Contractor: Miron Construction
PM: Matt Hoel
Supervisor: Nick Rohach

Structures collaborated with Frana Companies and Damon Farber in the design, engineering and construction process to reimagine a neglected street of Edina’s famed 50^th and France neighborhood into an extended and improved shopping district. Once an old cafés parking lot, this beautiful addition to the City of Edina became known as Nolan Mains and is now a luxury living and shopping area that attracts hundreds of visitors daily.

There were many unique challenges throughout this project that Structures was able to work through including adding multiple walkways throughout the entire area to expand shops on all sides of the building.

The site layout and rigid storm water management objectives would be difficult for any city to implement during the harsh Minnesota seasons which lead for the use of Permeable and Non-Permeable pavers for the drive lanes, plazas and pedestrian walkways all the while maintaining a historically rooted architecture.

A Permeable Paver system was specially designed to capture storm water runoff at a rapid pace. The storm water is then sent to the City’s water collection system which was installed within the sub-base of the Permeable Paver structure. The unique design and proper install gave peace of mind to the Owner and City of Edina as the use of Permeable Pavers would ensure that any water, whether from rain or snow fall, would fall quickly within the joints instead of freezing on the surface and creating the risk of black ice forming on the walkways during the unforgiving winter months.

Nolan Mains required close coordination among all subcontractors to efficiently move production along while working through the many challenges associated with renovating a heavily populated downtown urban area. Structures proudly answered the call to ensure the vision of this renovation came to light while maintaining the historically rooted Architecture to Edina.

Job: Nolan Mains
City: Edina, MN
General Contractor: Frana Companies

In 2019 Structures worked alongside Novak Construction and Frattalone Companies to build one of the largest Earth Retention systems in the Twin Cities. The new Costco Wholesale once a 166,800 square foot piece of land filled with varied topography, is located on the SE of the interstates 494 and 35E interchange in Eagan, MN. Expected to provide over 250 jobs, Costco is a great addition to the Eagan Community.

It was critical that the site was pad ready in 75 days. To do this, Major excavation and 52,638 ft of multiple segmental retaining walls were needed to be build. One of those walls was designed to run parallel with Blue Gentian Rd and reach 30 feet tall and over 1,000 feet long.

The experience of the Structures team and strong field communication with all involved parties, Structures was able to deliver the challenge of providing a site ready surface for Costco’s amenities and achieve the crucial deadline for Novak Construction.

Job: Costco Wholesale
City: Eagan, MN
General Contractor: Novak Construction
Supervisor: John Christopherson

Structures was solicited for the VyStar Credit Union project in Orange City, Florida to come up with a value engineered design for a proposed H-Pile retaining wall system. The credit union was challenged with using minimal space for the retaining wall due to the essential need for an effective driveway, drive-thru, and parking lot for their customers.

Structures came up with a gravity retaining wall system using RediRock blocks. With the new design, Structures managed to take over 600 LF of H-Pile wall and cut it down to less than 100 LF, which was needed to support an adjacent structure during construction for a safe working environment. The new RediRock design used units as big as 72″ deep (nearly 2 tons) for the base to create long term structural stability for the retaining wall. The RediRock Magic Block design was used where 120 LF of the wall came very close to the neighboring property and kept a 9′ tall wall structure at less than 30″ thick. This design was a successful solution as it presented high aesthetics for the client while saving money.

Job: VyStar Credit Union
City: Orange City, FL
General Contractor: Dana B Kenyon Company

The Moline is a project centered in the heart of historic downtown Hopkins. The Architect was challenged to add an outdoor amenity deck to satisfy the new residences. The amenity deck includes a putting green, grill station and bar, firepit, bocce ball court, a pool, and lounging areas. Structures was used to install the Wausau Tile Architectural Slabs on top of a pedestal system. The pedestal system allowed for utilities to run underneath the pavers, such as electrical, drainage, and irrigation. The pedestals also allowed Structures to make the final deck elevation level, while setting the pedestals on a pitched roof system. Each pedestal has a 3/16″ tab used to provide consistent open joints between the pavers for both aesthetics and easy water drainage off the deck into the roof drainage system. Skilled labor was used to lay in the 45 degree angle slabs off the pool deck. Larger slab units were purchased to ensure there were no small pieces surrounding the pool for structural stability. Three different colors were used to designate areas like private patios, walkways, and the pool area. Slabs on pedestals were even set under the bocce ball artificial turf because of its long lasting durability and to ensure the court was leveled. In the end, the pedestal system was a successful solution to provide these residences with a useful outdoor amenity deck. 

Job: The Moline
City: Hopkins, MN
General Contractor: Doran Companies

St. John’s Episcopal Church set forth to remodel their basement classrooms. Doing this required the installation of a new Handicap ADA ramp from street level down to the basement. The Architect used Anchor Brisa retaining wall units to hold back grade for the ADA ramps. Anchor Brisa Moonlight color was selected to save on the cost of natural stone while maintaining a similar rock-faced look as the existing building.

There was very limited space between the street and the building to create the ramp at the regulated ADA grade. This required quality craftsmanship in saw cutting the angles for the retaining walls to create the landing areas on the ramp. Also, strong attention was made to the layout of the retaining walls as many factors went into leveling the base to maintain the proper block wall pattern exposed above grade.

With the size of the retaining walls, and limited space to backfill, over half the walls were backfilled with no-fines concrete to cut out the use of geogrid reinforcement. This was a porous concrete that allowed water to drain freely while still acting as concrete and increasing the structural integrity of the walls without the need for long geogrids. Above the retaining walls, freestanding blocks were needed as the back of the blocks were exposed along the stairs and many parts of the planting beds.

A homemade “Snipe-Bucket” was used to carry the no-fines concrete over the site and reach into tough places to backfill the walls. Each wall was constructed in a sequence that timed out with the concrete delivery schedule, so no backfill went to waste.

Overall the project was a large success adding a functional ADA ramp to the basement of the church with structural retaining walls while not holding back on quality and aesthetics. The church’s renovation is a beautiful addition to the high-end residential neighborhood on Sheridan Ave in Minneapolis! 

Job: St John’s Episcopal Church
City: Minneapolis, MN
General Contractor: Watson-Forsberg Company
Architect: Miller Dunwiddie Architecture

The “Open Doors Open Futures” project for Westminster Presbyterian Church was designed with both permeable and non-permeable pavers. The non-permeable pavers were the Belgard Rinn Padio 14 multi-sized paver system, 80mm thick, in a Graphite color. The permeable pavers used were the Holland Permeable 80mm in a Charcoal Face Mix color.

Close attention was made to the pattern and design of the pavers as the Church sits in a high traffic block of downtown Minneapolis. Running bond patterns were used for the Rinn pavers and the permeable pavers on the Plaza side of the building. A herringbone pattern was used on the driveway side of the project to maximize interlocking strength while not jeopardizing aesthetics.

The Rinn pavers were selected for the walkways, ADA ramps, and main entrances for their durability and multi-sized paver pattern. These pavers we carefully laid with a pitch toward thin slot drains throughout the plaza which captured stormwater runoff in underground tanks to reuse in the property’s irrigation system. The permeable pavers were needed in the lower plaza area and the new driveway to capture excess stormwater that drained into the ground. The design of this property was under strict water control guidelines set forth by the City of Minneapolis.

The pavers were installed after the site retaining walls, ramps, and stairs were all poured. That required strategic logistical tactics by all parties to get the pallets of pavers and buckets of sand to where we needed them. All the pavers and sand for the Rinn walkways and plaza were moved on site by a tower crane. Trucks were strategically timed to arrive downtown at the right moment, so nobody had to wait for the crane and block traffic. The assistance of the crane allowed our laborers to focus on the laying pattern and put forth their best craftsmanship!

In the end, this project is a beautiful addition to downtown Minneapolis. Located right on Nicollet Mall, many people get to enjoy the walkways, seating areas, and landscaping the church has added to the city. The functionality and aesthetics of these hardscapes will last a lifetime!

Job: Westminster Presbyterian Church
City: Minneapolis, MN
General Contractor: Mortenson
Architect: James Dayton Design, Minneapolis, MN
Landscape Architect: Hoerr Schaudt, Chicago, IL
Product(s): Anchor Rinn Padio 14, Anchor Holland Permeable Pavers, and Custom Precast Curbing

The Gibraltar Compressor Station is just one small piece to the Gibraltar and Buffalo Creek System pipeline project in the Appalachian Mountains of Pennsylvania. Columbia Midstream (Part of TransCanada) solicited the services of Glenn O Hawbaker and RediRock wall systems to develop this site. The site called for two retaining walls on the East and West perimeter of the property to raise and flatten the existing grade by about 35’. Much fill soils were imported to make the pad for the compressor station. With fill material being imported, the best solution for this project was RediRock’s Positive Connection (PC) reinforced system. This allowed the owner to keep costs down while filing the site and provided much needed structural support for the Compressor Station above the wall.

Job: Gibraltar Compressor Station
City: Washington County, PA
General Contractor: Glenn O Hawbaker, Inc.
Civil Engineer: Basic Systems, Inc.

The De La Pointe building is one of two projects completed by Graves Development Properties in Uptown, Minneapolis in 2017. Nestled on the corner of Holmes Ave and W 31^st St, De La Pointe used permeable pavers to capture storm water on their sidewalks, main entrance, and driveway. The permeable pavers will also be helpful to control snow melt runoff during the Spring season. Natural stone planter walls were added around the perimeter of the building to compliment the imported natural stone that was installed on the building.

Job Name:  De La Pointe
City:  Minneapolis, MN
General Contractor:  Doran Companies
Landscape Architect:  b.e. landscape designs