As We Grow: Sustainability and Public/Private Partnerships

UMR will have a master lease for six-floors of residential housing and two floors of classroom, office and student life activity space.  The remainder of the building will house retail opportunities and one floor of non-UMR residential housing.   

The construction began in May 2010 with completion scheduled for July 2011.  The HGA (architects) design team is leading a process to achieve LEED certification for the facility.  The LEED designation level will not be known until construction is complete and the review process finalized.  The initial goal is to achieve the Silver level of certification. 

The classroom and office furniture currently being considered for the 318 Commons academic and office space are Steelcase products.  Each of the products under consideration is 74-95% recyclable and is made from 33-58% recycled material.  UMR is also responsible for furniture in the outdoor plaza of the new building.  It is currently considering outdoor furniture, trash bins and recycling bins made entirely from recycled plastic milk jugs. 

The University of Minnesota Rochester has been working closely with community leaders, including the City of Rochester, to plan a downtown community to encourage living, working and learning in the downtown area.   The effort, known as the Rochester Downtown Master Plan, includes elements designed to promote a reduced dependency on the automobile, establishment of open and green connected spaces for community health, and provide for a walkable downtown.   

The plan recommends that these goals, and others, can be achieved through investments in a dedicated mass transit system to lessen the traffic pressure and parking requirements in the downtown core, uncoupling parking space requirements from downtown development to further encouraging integrating living, commercial and retail properties, as well as the redesigning of streetscapes and traffic flows to better accommodate walking and biking commutes.