Green
& Sustainable
Bauknight envisions MPS
headquarters in Willard Homewood
Imagine a futuristic multi-story structure emerging to define anew Northside pride and progress
at the Southeast corner of Penn & Plymouth Avenues in North Minneapolis’s Willard
Homewood neighborhood.
nd imagine green design and
A environmental sustainability as core
features of the expansive complex,
which will deliver 180,000 square feet of new
workspace, creating a facility that provides
some 6 times the space of the already
impressive Glover Sudduth Center for
Neighborhood and Economic Development,
home of the Minneapolis Urban League,
which occupies the northeast corner of the
intersection.
And visualize the historic Lincoln Junior High
School incorporated into the development,
adding 60,000 sq. ft. of usable space for
community and district programs, plus an
attached ramp providing 825 parking spaces.
But wait…there’s more. Consider the value of
a project that masters the art of leveraging,
delivering more bang for the buck by
intentional link aging of opportunity
previously obscured by lack of imagination
and lack of political will.
Enter Paul Bauknight, principal of the Urban
Design Group, a design and architectural firm
McFarlane Ford Reader
Story Al McFarlane and B.P. Ford, The Editors
that is competing for the $60-70 million
construction project creating a new
administrative headquarters for the
Minneapolis Public Schools District.
Uniquely, it’s Bauknight’s presence in the
competition that takes the notion of organic
sustainability to a whole new level.
For not only does the Bauknight proposal
present an innovative LEED Platinum
certified project, it delivers advanced Waste
to Green Energy Infrastructure that converts
waste to electricity, heating & cooling for
building. The result: a zero waste, zero carbon
facility.
“The District has asked for a green solution
for their new office building. We believe that
standard green strategies are only the floor.
We are proposing the first zero waste and zero
carbon school district facility in the country,”
Bauknight said is his proposal to the
Minneapolis School District.
“By working with PLACE, a national non-
profit who is pioneering the use of existing
technology to produce environmentally
sustainable communities at the highest levels,
the new MPS building will have zero waste,
zero carbon and free green energy for the
whole building valued at over $267,500
annually,” he said, adding that the process,
called e-Generation, will create at least 12
permanent, living-wage green collar jobs for
the community.
The proposal calls for Green roofs, or
permaculture self-sustaining ecosystem
design through landscape and gardens, and a
greenhouse on top of the parking ramp that
provides year-round fresh fruits and
vegetables. Bauknight said the new facility
will create bridges between educational and
academic aspects of the District by becoming
a living educational resource.
In addition, the Bauknight proposal team is
the only “minority-led” proposal under
consideration by the District. And Bauknight,
whose architectural signature already dots the
Northside, is a long time Northside resident,
and member of the Willard Homewood
neighborhood.
January 18, 2010

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And because he lives and works in the
community, Bauknight is adamant about the
value North Minneapolis and the city deserve
and will gain from selecting his proposal to
locate the District headquarters building in the
Willard Homewood neighborhood.
“The District’s student population consists of
70% students of color. A building project in
the heart of communities of color, and
engaging businesses that from the same
community of color demonstrates awareness
of added value and equity our community
should expect from policy makers,”
Bauknight said.
Bauknight says his proposal is unique also
because it leverages the opportunity at hand to
create new jobs and business activity in North
Minneapolis at District owned property on
West Broadway and on Lake Street. He
proposes to acquire and develop commercial
applications for these sites. At 1250 West
Broadway, in particular, a planned
commercial/office facility is expected to
create some 300 jobs.
“The redevelopment of 1250 W. Broadway,
807 NE Broadway, the Lehmann Center, on
West lake, and 2225 East Lake Street will
have a significant positive impact on the
District’s long-term operating budget while at
the same time creating hundreds of jobs,
enhancing the city’s tax base and providing
community amenities for Minneapolis
residents. This strategy relieves the District’s
holding costs for these vacated properties
along with returning future sales proceeds
estimated between $10 and $20 million within
one to three years,” he said.
“The Urban Design Lab team will secure
these sites with $3,000,000 to cover
operations and maintenance on the four sites
upon contract signing. Value of all four
properties in today’s market is in the
$10,000,000 range if sold within 12 months
and in the $16,000,000 range if disposition
Page 2
“We propose working with Minneapolis
residents, artists and students in a design
workshop led by artist Seitu Jones and the
Urban Design Lab team, to create a public art
plan for the Minneapolis Complex,”
Robert Belton and Paul Bauknight
occurs within 24-36 months. By the time MPS
is ready to move into their new building, pre-
development will have been completed and
proceeds from their sale will go into MPS
coffers either lump sum or rent reduction,” he
said.
“We propose working with Minneapolis
residents, artists and students in a design
workshop led by artist Seitu Jones and the
Urban Design Lab team, to create a public art
plan for the Minneapolis Complex,” he said.
“Many studies have shown the connection
between health and educational outcomes.
MPS already is involved in most of these
issues as an employer, an advocate, a partner
and a responsible community member. The
move to Penn & Plymouth can intensify and
leverage MPS partnerships with surrounding
institutional partners such as NorthPoint
Health & Wellness to achieve even greater
health outcomes for employees and
community members,” he said. Stella
Whitney-West, CEO of NorthPoint Health &
Wellness says, “NorthPoint would be pleased
to have MPS as a neighbor and as a partner in
the fight to reduce disparities in our
community.” “Locating at this site will also
Suluki Fardan
provide a wealth of opportunities for
programmatic partnerships and other potential
joint endeavors.” stated Robert Jones, Senior
Vice President at the University of Minnesota.
Bauknight said sustainability has to be more
than just an environmental force - it should
also be an economic and social force. Creating
a LEED certified building in a distressed
community contributes to the needs of the
whole community by anchoring initiatives
that assure that community members have
stable affordable housing; safe
neighborhoods; access to recreational, social
and educational resources in order to achieve
a good quality of life.
The Minneapolis School Board is considering
proposals for its new headquarters building
and may decide on a project in the next couple
of months. Willard Homewood Organization
will host a presentation by Bauknight’s team
at its January meeting, 6:30 pm Thursday,
January 28th at North Point’s community
services building at 14th & Penn N.