HONORABLE MENTION: Parking Structures Category

Restoration of the Marshall Field’s Parking Facility

St. Paul, Minnesota

Submitted by Buildings Consulting Group, Inc.

Marshall Field’s Department Store in downtown St. Paul, Minnesota was built in 1962, containing 5 stories of retail floors and 7 indoor parking levels that were interconnected. In 1985, the garage was found to have suffered major deterioration due to corrosion of the embedded reinforcing steel, which adversely affected the structural integrity and the appearance of this upscale shopping facility. The Owner was not able to fund the initial $4.5 million construction cost.

The restoration engineer evaluated and established the repair priorities that could allow the Owner to spread the repairs over a 15-to-20 year period for an annual budget of about $250,000, without compromising and jeopardizing the public safety.

In 2002, the repair program was finally completed for a total cost of $4.42 million over 17 years, a cost that is similar to the initial repair budget projection, but only about 45% of the cost for rebuilding a new similar size parking facility for the store. The Owner operated its retail business and parking smoothly without facing any disruption during the entire repair period. The parking garage was completely restored to a safer, more convenient and pleasant pace. The 17-year repair program prevented many patrons, shoppers and visitors from major inconveniences in and around the downtown St. Paul area, where the retail business has been struggling in recent years. The success of this project illustrates the engineering professionals’ ability to assist the Owners, by offering him a workable solution that not only solved his problem, but also prevent the recurrence of the same problem in the future.

Owner
Marshall Field's
Minneapolis, Minnesota

Project Engineer/
Designer
Building Consulting
Group, Inc.
Minneapolis, Minnesota

Repair Contractor
Cy-Con, Inc.
St. Paul, Minnesota