Rochester, MN – August 23, 2010.

TSP would like to announce and congratulate Minnesota Energy Resource Corporation’s receipt of a 2009 Top Project Award from Finance & Commerce for their new Rochester Service Center. The annual award program celebrates the industry’s many groundbreaking achievements, literally and figuratively, in the past year.

Minnesota Energy Resource Corporation is a natural gas utility serving more than 211,000 customers throughout Minnesota. The new 18,000 sf Rochester Service Center combines Rochester’s operations and employees into one building complex, thereby increasing efficiency.

To achieve the goal of LEED Silver (certification pending), the facility incorporates sustainable guidelines for site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection, and indoor environmental quality. Stan Shreve, Southwest Minnesota Operations Manager, explains that being a utility company, "We thought it was important to be a model for energy efficiency and sustainability" and adding that every step of the way, "We asked ourselves, would our clients be willing to pay for this?"

In accordance with LEED standards, more than 20% of the materials were manufactured less than 500 miles from the site; low VOC materials, including paint, coatings, carpets, wood, and agrifiber products, were used throughout to cut down on air pollution; roughly 64% of construction waste was recycled; and the building’s lighting was designed with user-controlled dimming devices, aiding in "daylight harvesting."

Employee comfort is established by individually controlled air ventilation though a pressurized, variable air volume system running underneath their feet. In addition to refreshing the building’s air supply, the system prevents the spread of germs.

TSP, established in 1930, has experience in a wide range of project types, most notably in healthcare, educational facilities, and government buildings. TSP has offices in Minneapolis, Marshall and Rochester, MN; Sioux Falls and Rapid City, SD; Omaha, NE; Sheridan, WY; and Marshalltown, IA.