Gage Brothers has been awarded the precast contract for the Monument, a new multi-purpose, indoor arena in Rapid City, S.D. The projected $130 million facility will replace the aging Barnett Arena in the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center.

Gage Brothers was chosen by Minneapolis-based Mortenson Construction, who is ranked by industry publication Engineering News-Record as the 16th-largest contractor in the United States. Perkins+Will, JLG Architects and Scull Construction round out the project team.

“We’ve done a lot of work in Rapid City,” Gage Brothers president Tom Kelley said, referencing projects such as the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center, Rapid City Regional parking ramp and several residence halls for the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. “Gage Brothers has also had a really good partnership with Mortenson Construction over the years, and they’re familiar with our processes.”

Gage Brothers and Mortenson have worked together on several stadium and arena projects, including the USD Sports Performance Complex, Denny Sanford PREMIER Center, Target Field, TCF Bank Stadium, Tyson Events Center and the Target Center, which was built during two (1988-89) relentless Minnesota winters.

Gage Brothers will fabricate more than 140,000 square-feet of precast concrete for the Monument. Monument Health was selected from three respondents who submitted a proposal to receive naming rights after an extensive RFP process that began in December of 2018.

Rapid City-based Regional Health recently changed its named to Monument Health in a move that included joining the Mayo Clinic Care Network, and the naming rights for the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center will belong to Monument Health starting in 2021.  

The nearly 250,000 square-foot arena will be home to Rodeo Rapid City, Black Hills Powwow, Lakota Nation Invitational, and other sports and entertainment events. The facility will feature approximately 12,500 seats, a variety of experiential and premium seating options, additional social spaces within view of the action, and open and transparent concourses.

The goals of the project are to provide the community and surrounding area a building that has amenities they can enjoy for many years to come, as well as providing promoters with a venue that is functional, easy to use, and works with their show set-up. This includes a large arena floor, a minimum of 75 feet to the grid, an expansive rigging grid, minimum seating capacity of 10,000 for an end stage concert, a loading dock that can handle a 15 to 20-truck show, and a facility that is accessible for all.

The design plans call for 61,000 square-feet of smooth grey walls and slabs, 56,000 square-feet of stair tread and risers, 24,000 square-feet of insulated wall panels, and precast beams/columns. It will take roughly 110 days for Gage Brothers to manufacture the products in its new state-of-the-art plant in northeast Sioux Falls.

The groundbreaking ceremony for the Monument was held on November 16th. Arena construction has already begun at the site, which is adjacent to the west side of the civic center's Barnett Arena. Completion is scheduled for the fall of 2021.

"Rapid City's time has come," Mayor Steve Allender said before the groundbreaking. "This is a great day for Rapid City and for the future of Rapid City. The Arena isn't the only great thing happening. There is something in the air. This is our time."

Gage Brothers has manufactured concrete products for more than three dozen high school, collegiate and professional sports venues throughout the Midwest. The company’s foray into sports facility construction came in 1957, when they produced concrete tread and risers for historic Howard Wood Field in Sioux Falls. That was followed by the Met Center in 1966— best known as the home of the Minnesota North Stars.

Recent sports and recreation projects include the Kinnick Stadium North End Zone renovations, Great Shots Golf and the SDSU Stanley J. Marshall Center renovations.

Gage Brothers Concrete Products, Inc., was established in 1915 by members of the Gage family and after 103 years in northwest Sioux Falls has opened its new state-of-the-art plant in northeast Sioux Falls. Employee-owned since 2008, Gage Brothers will continue its proud tradition of creating lasting relationships and providing innovative solutions. Products manufactured at the Sioux Falls plant can be found in 22 states and close to 900 cities throughout the United States. The Midwest’s premier precast concrete company will surpass $50 million in sales this year.  

Gage Brothers has been named a winner of a 2018 Construction Industry Center (CIC) Craftsmanship Award for its production of panels for the Pennington County Courthouse addition in Rapid City, South Dakota.

The CIC Craftsmanship Awards honor work in various trades on both commercial and residential construction projects during the 2018 calendar year. Gage Brothers received the award in the Commercial Category.

“We are honored to have received such a prestigious award in today’s competitive and challenging construction environment,” said Joe Bunkers, Vice President of Preconstruction. “Our team of carpenters, led by supervisor Bill Crossley, architectural planner Gary Steinke and architectural production manager Adam Struck are truly the ones who deserve this award for their dedication and superior workmanship.” Gage Brothers, CO-OP Architecture and Fennel Design had the opportunity to work with Pennington County officials to create a new entrance to the courthouse, a modern neo-classical structure that was built in 1922. The new courthouse entrance is designed to historically match the existing facility and provide more functionality. The end result is a grand new entrance that solves drainage issues, security, security space and removes barriers by ridding of excess stairs and level changes. The space added much needed square footage for the courts and has tied the previous buildings together. It has truly become the new front door for the courthouse. Added Bunkers, “We would like to thank all of our partners involved in this project including Jared Carda of CO-OP Architecture, Fennel Design and Ainsworth-Benning Construction.”

Noteworthy Craftsmanship:

The owner wanted to tie in the link between the original courthouse, a limestone modern neo-classical building, with its 1980 precast addition. The detail work required very complex form work and details. The formwork incorporated multiple projected varying elements that required form and structure to hold up for multiple pours and to accommodate changes throughout the duration of the production. Along with the complexity of the forms, the panels needed to be insulated to provide the necessary thermal break for their enclosure. There were also many single-use forms that required great skill from Gage Brothers carpenters. The required lettering style reflects an earlier era, with projected letters on the panels instead of the typical recessed style commonly used today. This was achieved with the use of a CNC machine. Rosettes were created using  Revit modeling and creating a 3-D model, so the owner and the architect could visually see the rosette image that combined features from 1922 to the 1980 rosettes. The CNC machine was used to create the shape for form building. Early on, efforts were taken to create a color and finish that blended in closely between the two existing structures. Large returns were a major element to the project, and a great deal of time was dedicated to ensuring the product match the client's expectations. One significant element with the large returns are the massive fluted columns that stabilize and strengthen the front elevation. These flutes were crafted by Gage Brothers carpenters with immense care and detail in their form. Even the mechanical penthouse called for unique forms to complete this link between the structures. To make this courthouse addition into a reality, carpenters spent 1,047 hours building, placing and changing forms for this project. In total, Gage Brothers cast 81 pieces for a total of 264 yards (7,842 square feet).

Gage Brothers will receive the award at the 64th Annual Construction Industry Center Meeting of Members on March 2 in Rapid City, South Dakota.

Northern State University (Aberdeen, S.D.) was challenged recently by the need to create residential facilities for students arriving at college with a different set of privacy boundaries and lifestyle preferences than any generation before.
The university also wanted to lure current students back from off-campus housing because living in the core of NSU’s campus provides students with easy access to activities, facilitates deep engagement with the campus community and increases interactions with faculty and staff.
To meet the needs and expectations of the next generation of college students, NSU has introduced three new, modern residence halls on campus: Wolves Memorial Suites, which opened in fall 2017; and Great Plains West and Great Plains East, set to open this fall.
The plan is working—housing applications are up 20 percent from last spring.
As of March 1, 157 new students had applied to live at Northern this fall, according to NSU Director of Residence Life Marty Sabolo. That compares to 127 housing applications last year at the same time and 89 requests the previous year.
Sabolo said the uptick in housing requests is a direct result of NSU’s new dynamic living communities. Students are embracing these new on-campus housing options that mirror today’s diverse society and provide the foundation for academic success.
Offerings Set NSU Apart In designing Great Plains East and West, a key ingredient was simply more space. Privacy is becoming a highly sought after amenity, with the majority of freshmen coming to campus never having shared a bedroom.
The appeal of suites reflects how living situations have changed over the years. Thirty years ago, Sabolo said, students moving to college were coming from homes with five or six family members and only two or three bedrooms. Nowadays, families often have one or two kids but four or five bedrooms. Sharing space isn’t something today’s youth are used to.
“I think it’s what today’s students really want, especially the suite-style rooms,” Sabolo added.
Similarly, they’re used to modern amenities – air-conditioning, in particular, is the number one question NSU Residence Life is asked by potential students.
That sort of feature, along with conference rooms and study rooms offered in the new halls, has essentially caught Northern up with trends shaping student housing, said Sabolo. But NSU is also including more unique offerings in Great Plains East and West – including a Papa John’s Pizza, convenience store and game-cleaning room – which set the university apart.
“I really believe that regionally, Northern is going to be the one that people are keeping up with,” Sabolo said.
The Precast Advantage The combination of exposed precast concrete in an acid-etched and sandblasted textures and thin bricks replicates the look of stone-and-brick for Great Plains West and Great Plains East.
Five colors of brick in three different sizing were used for the twin residence halls. Two main field colors consisted of medium iron spot red modular size brick for the majority portion of building and autumn sands utility size brick with a brownish hue for courtyard portion of the buildings. A Desert Iron Spot Dark and Bordeaux Blend velour were used for banding to add horizontal lines and to create the top coursings of the modular brick, while roman size autumn sands brick with a velour texture provides accents to the utility brick panels in the courtyard.
Standard brick sizes were used to emulate conventionally laid brick, with L-shaped bricks at corners and windows openings.
The panels significantly reduced enclosure time compared to conventionally laid brick.
“The use of thin brick as a precast veneer allows the design team limitless options, from color and texture, to sizes and locations, to achieve the correct design aesthetic for each individual project,” said Steve Miller, project manager with CO-OP Architecture.
He added, “This allows us to achieve individuality from building to building while still benefiting from the ease of building erection that precast provides.” More New Facilities Northern’s campus has even more growth planned, and Sabolo said the new residence halls have led the way. Now that it has, he said, it’s increased anticipation of NSU’s other upcoming projects, including the Regional Science Education Center, regional sports complex, and athletic and recreation fields.
“I think students are more excited about coming to Northern,” Sabolo said.

Finance & Commerce recently honored Minnesota’s top construction projects with its tenth annual Top Projects Series.

The selected projects were celebrated with an award event on July 26, 2017 and with a daily series in the print publication.

Projects are judged for their degree of difficulty, creativity in design, innovative construction techniques, cooperation among contractors and management, and sustainability efforts.

Projects that completed in 2016 are eligible for honors. All projects are eligible, whether new construction or a major renovation in commercial or residential.

The three Gage Brothers projects named to the list are the Minnesota Senate Building, Maurices Headquarters and the Wells Fargo Downtown East Corporate Campus. In total, Gage Brothers produced 271,651 square feet of precast concrete products for the acclaimed trio.
The Minnesota Senate Building
By Todd Nelson, Finance & Commerce

Project Details

• Project cost: $89.6 million
• 54,571 square feet of precast
• 300 pieces
• Precast Erection Start Date: May 2015
• Precast Erection Completion Date: September 2015
• Project Completion Date: January 2016

The group had just 20 months to design and build a structure that would house all 67 Minnesota senators, support public participation in the legislative process, and serve the public for a century. The building, which had to be ready for occupancy by January 2016 to accommodate that year’s legislative session, was completed on time.

Architects from St. Paul-based BWBR and Connecticut-based Pickard Chilton, a variety of engineers, and design-builder Mortenson Construction of Golden Valley met daily to collaborate on the design and assess progress.

Design-build team members gathered on the upper floor of a credit union building that Mortenson rented across the street from the project. In industry jargon, it’s called the “Big Room” concept.

The 293,000-square-foot Senate building, the first new legislative building neighboring the Minnesota Capitol since 1932, includes offices for senators and their support staff and serves as a workplace for more than 360 people. It includes a 250-seat theater-style hearing room and two 150-seat hearing rooms.

Citizens and future building occupants offered input on the design. “One of the things that made it ‘of Minnesota’ was the involvement of Minnesotans along the way,” said Stephen Harris, architect with Pickard Chilton.

Maurices Headquarters & City of Duluth Parking Structure

Project Details

• Project cost: $70 million
• 66,747 square feet of precast
• 502 pieces
• Precast Erection Start Date: March 2015
• Precast Erection Completion Date: September 2015
• Project Completion Date: March 2016

By Dan Heilman, Finance & Commerce An ambitious public-private collaboration recently resulted in downtown Duluth’s largest building, as well as a new headquarters for a leading retailer of women’s clothing. Because the 11-story structure is essentially three buildings in one, it was also one of the more complicated construction projects in the port city’s history.

“This was an unusual project because there was so much at stake for both the public and private partners,” said Connie Shields, project manager for owners Tegra Group. “The volume of city involvement was huge.”

The new Maurices headquarters boasts an exterior of brick, precast concrete and glass. Some complicated thermal requirements were met in order to have four floors of “cold” space for the parking ramp in between multiple floors of conditioned space.

The two-story lobby entrance includes retail and office space, while the second through sixth floors include skywalk infrastructure and the 491-space ramp, which is owned by the city. While most parking ramps aren’t noted for their aesthetic charm, this one has a perforated metal skin to keep headlight glare from escaping the ramp.

“The city needed the parking, so they were able to put together a matching grant program that the state Department of Employment and Economic Development was able to participate in,” said Shields. “That added an extra $20 million to fund the building and provide extra parking for downtown Duluth as well as parking for employees. It was a win-win for everybody.”

Floors seven through 11 contain office space for Maurices and Ascena Retail Group.

Shields noted the monumental amount of teamwork necessary to make the project go, and singled out architect Terry Helland and Dave McLaughlin of McGough Construction for special praise.

“Periodically during construction Dave would say we were using this many miles of wire, this many pounds of a certain material,” she said. “That gave everyone some real perspective of what was going into the project.” Wells Fargo Downtown East Corporate Campus
By Dan Heilman, Finance & Commerce

Project Details

• Project cost: $217 million
• 150,033 square feet of precast
• 1,044 pieces
• Completion Date: May 2016

The Star Tribune is in the news business, not the real estate business. So when it decided to sell its downtown Minneapolis headquarters so banking giant Wells Fargo could build a new corporate campus, it was an all-or-nothing proposition.

“They wanted to sell all of the parcel at once,” said Tony Barranco, vice president, real estate development, for Minneapolis-based Ryan Cos. US Inc. “Lining up multiple uses and not wanting to carry a lot of expensive urban land, we didn’t want to carry it without a plan for very long.”

Holding a hot potato such as that parcel of land was only one of the many moving pieces that needed to be negotiated during the development of the Wells Fargo Downtown East Corporate Campus. Also a source of concern was the concurrent construction of U.S. Bank Stadium, which was being built down the street.

“The timing was the most unique challenge,” said Barranco. “Investment in the stadium was an important catalyst. We had to make sure we could catch up to the stadium, because a lot of the overall value of the projects – skyway connections, parking ramp, the Downtown East Commons – all had to keep pace with the schedule the stadium construction was on.”

The final product was worth the angst. The regional headquarters facility has two 17-story towers offering 1.2 million square feet of office space. More than 5,000 Wells Fargo employees work in a space meant to encourage team collaboration and communication. To top off the project and create an inviting atmosphere, Ryan proposed a new 4.2-acre urban park adjacent to the campus, which the city and Wells Fargo both welcomed.

“Projects of that scale don’t get done by one person,” said Barranco. “With a whole lot of people moving in one direction, you can get a lot accomplished, and this was the perfect example.”

Finance and Commerce provides news, analysis and commentary on Minnesota business. We are the only independent daily newspaper dedicated to business reporting.

Founded in 1887, Finance and Commerce is the only daily newspaper devoted exclusively to business in the Twin Cities (Minneapolis–Saint Paul) of Minnesota.

The oil boom in the Bakken Region of North Dakota has turned into an electric co-op boom for Mountrail-Williams Electric Cooperative (MWEC), the largest power distributor in the Upper Midwest.

MWEC is one of 65 co-ops situated along the 200,000-square-mile Bakken Formation, where oil and gas exploration are driving frenzied growth in three states and two Canadian provinces.

In fact, the city of Williston (N.D.), where MWEC is located, has doubled in population since 2007.

That means huge new demand for co-op power as lines are extended to developing fields. This has driven a significant uptick in the demand for the services MWEC provides. The demand has seen MWEC nearly triple its workforce since 2010 as it hustles to serve a consistent backlog of requests for power.

A bigger workforce has caused growing pains for MWEC, as the not-for-profit, member-owned electric distribution cooperative, has outgrown its current space.

To accommodate current and future growth, MWEC will redevelop their existing site to provide space for a new office building. The project will highlight and showcase the efficient use of electricity while creating a beacon for MWEC on the north side of Williston.

Gage Brothers will produce precast trim, architectural panels and insulated panels for the new four-story structure. This is just the sixth Williston building project that has been awarded to Gage Brothers since the company's founding in 1915.

Anchored with portions of Gage Brothers precast concrete walls that relate to the surrounding MWEC campus building, the large expanses of curtainwall glazing will showcase the active office, collaborative, and tenant spaces within. The project will be designed to achieve a LEED Gold rating and will place special emphasis on the electrical components of LEED, given the nature of the cooperative.

The construction manager for the build is the Williston office of FCI Constructors, Inc.

JLG Architects will design MWEC’s new energy-efficient headquarters. Gage Brothers has worked on more than a dozen building projects with JLG Architects since 2012. Recent collaborations with JLG include the Sanford Pentagon and the Sanford Fieldhouse.

This is the second expansion that MWEC has undergone in recent years to address rapid growth in North Dakota. In 2014, MWEC cut the ribbon on an 85,000-square-foot truck bay to serve its fleet of 100 or so trucks, many of them quick service trucks that repair lines at a moment's notice in all sorts of weather. The shop is four times the size of the previous facility.

Construction of the H&D Schilling building is well underway. Located in North Dakota’s state capitol, the new mixed-use structure in named for Harvey and Diane Schilling, longtime community members and business owners in Bismarck.

The couple’s namesake building is being constructed on the corner of State Street & 43rd Avenue in Bismarck. Forty-Third Avenue is expected to be one of the city’s busiest intersections in coming years, making the corner a prime location.

The construction manager for the build is Capital City Construction, while the architect of record is DJR Architecture. Aaron Wockenfuss serves as DJR’s project manager for the Schilling Building.

The design team is led by Curt Schilling, the son and business partner of Harvey and Diane Schilling.

The build calls for more than 18,000 square feet of Gage Brothers corefloor and grey panels, along with beams and columns.

The H&D Schilling Building, featuring North Dakota's own Hebron Brick, draws its design cues from the 1930s. The first floor lobby nods to the art-deco period with smooth lines and geometric shapes in every detail from the radiators to the chandeliers. The elevator carries its passengers to the top with visible mechanics; a hallmark of quality workmanship.

This Class-A building will also feature twenty-four open-air balconies, underground heated parking and heated sidewalks.

The four-story mixed-use commercial development will have first-floor retail space while the remaining floors will remain open so they can be adapted to either office or residential space based on the highest demand. Bismarck’s overall job growth was ranked no. 14 in the Forbes 2016 “Best Small Places for Business and Careers,” which could help the additional floors fill up rather quickly and creates added optimism for the city’s future growth.

The H&D Schilling Building is job no. 35 in Bismarck for Gage Brothers. The 102-year old precast company’s foray into North Dakota’s state capitol was the library and an academic building for Bismarck State College back in 1967. Gage Brothers has also done extensive work for the University of Mary (1967, 1995).

Gage Brothers’ largest Bismarck project is the 6th Street Parking Ramp is located on 6th Street between Thayer and Broadway Avenue. Completed in 2014, the parking structure has the capacity to hold nearly 500 vehicles and contains more than 42,000 square feet of precast concrete in a variety of colors and finishes.

The H & D Schilling Building has a projected completion date of March 2018. Click here to view more construction photos.

Blending our construction experience, community passion, and partner-based mentality, Gage Brothers sets the stage for many impressive acts to follow.

Gage Brothers has been awarded the contract to provide precast concrete for the proposed 95,025-square foot expansion project at the South Dakota State University Performing Arts Center (PAC).

The highly anticipated build, which includes a full-scale, professional caliber proscenium theatre, will be constructed on both sides of the existing facility and will add dedicated facilities to serve both the local community and SDSU’s growing arts education programs.

The project is being designed by New York City-based Holzman Moss Bottino Architecture. The architect of record is Architecture Incorporated of Sioux Falls.

Preconstruction efforts for Gage Brothers began late in 2012.

Holzman Moss Bottino is a nationally-recognized theatre design firm with an extensive portfolio of university performing arts centers, including venues at New Mexico State, Western Connecticut State, Texas A & M, George Mason and Kent State. One of the firm’s most acclaimed legacy projects was the renovation of Radio City Music Hall in 1999.

They were also the lead architect for the Minnesota Orchestra Hall (1974). Gage Brothers manufactured nine thousand square feet of stone-clad insulated panels for the renovation of the Twin Cities architectural touchstone, which was completed in 2013.

Founding partner Malcolm Holzman will lead the PAC expansion. His buildings were described in a national publication as having a “brash beauty,” and are acknowledged for their evocative nature, technical vision and singular character.

Holzman has completed commissions in 32 states and his career body of work includes more than 150 building projects. This is the first commission within the Mount Rushmore State for Holzmann, a 1992 Interior Design Hall of Fame inductee.

Gage Brothers has enjoyed a prolific partnership with Architecture Inc. since the firm’s establishment in 1976. The two Sioux Falls companies have collaborated on more than 130 building projects over the past forty years.

According to Dennis Papini, Dean of SDSU’s College of Arts and Sciences, the need for the PAC expansion rests on four pillars: “Destination Brookings”; the value of attracting visitors and patrons of the arts; enhanced opportunities for Brookings schools and community arts organizations; and the economic impact of student recruitment.

In addition to the new proscenium theatre, the performing arts expansion also adds large rehearsal spaces for band, orchestra and choir and a recital hall for ensemble and solo performances.

Gage Brothers also provided precast products for SDSU’s current facility, which was constructed for $10.2 million in 2002. The 54,705-square foot venue consists of Larson Memorial Concert Hall, Fishback Studio Theatre and Roberts Reception Hall.

This is the fiftieth South Dakota State building project awarded to Gage Brothers since the mid-1960s. Recent work on the SDSU campus includes Daktronics Engineering Hall, the North Chiller Plant and Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium, home of Jackrabbit Football.

“Gage Brothers is proud to have deep and longstanding ties with South Dakota State University,” said company president Tom Kelley. “I think this facility expansion is a testament to the university’s commitment to both performing arts and the community of Brookings.”

The building plans call for 78,000-sq. ft. of Gage Brothers precast architectural and insulated panels, grey slabs and corefloor. According to the Gage Brothers preconstruction department, it will take approximately 54 days for employees to manufacture the precast components.

This project comes on the heels of the grand opening of the Mitchell (S.D.) School District’s new 67,000-square-foot performing arts center, another Gage Brothers project. Gage Brothers manufactured more than 28,000 square feet of precast concrete for the $15.3 million venue, which hosted the Palace City Jazz Festival for its February 7th debut.

Founded in 1915 by members of the Gage family, Gage Brothers’ experience in performing arts venue construction illustrates their knowledge of the intricacies and substantial detail that make up these specialized environments.

“We are passionate about the performing arts and strongly committed to creating precast products of the highest quality for our cultural institutions,” said Kelley. “We have continued to build on this focus through more than a dozen performing arts projects across the country—including collegiate performing arts centers, community theaters and a diversity of other venues.”

Other performance spaces built with Gage Brothers products include the Washington Pavilion, O’Gorman High School Performing Arts Center, Trollwood Performing Arts School (MN) and Northwestern College’s (IA) DeWitt Theatre Arts Center.

Formerly Washington High School, the Washington Pavilion underwent an intense $33 million renovation in 1999 and is now considered to be one of the top fine arts facilities in the state.

Some legacy performing arts projects for Gage Brothers are Morningside College’s Eugene C. Eppley Fine Arts Building (1966) and the Jeschke Fine Arts Center (1968), located at the University of Sioux Falls.

The target completion date for the PAC expansion is December of 2018.

The campaign to expand SDSU’s performing arts center is aimed at cultivating academic innovation across its schools and colleges, investing in recruiting and retaining the finest teacher-scholars and continuing to build a premier living-learning environment on the university’s 261-acre campus.

Rocker Square I is an industrial design, loft-style building that proudly displays the building materials that many try to conceal.

The design showcases neutral tones, exposed ceilings and stained concrete surfaces to give the building an unfinished feel—perfect for a college like the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology in Rapid City.

The six-story student apartment building was built in 2012 to accommodate rising enrollment and is owned by Technology Housing, LLC.

Instrumental in the construction of Rocker Square was Hani Shafai, President of Dream Design International, Inc. and a professional engineer/real estate developer living in Rapid City.

A Mines alumnus (’87), Shafai razed a block full of blight and quickly erected the privately-owned precast concrete structure for students.

Rocker Square I was a true alumni engagement project. Mines alumnus (’74) Jim Scull of Scull Construction was the general contractor, while Gage Brothers president Tom Kelley is a proud member of the School of Mines class of 1980.

Gage Brothers quickly manufactured more than 63,000-sq. ft. of precast concrete for a superior quality and highly efficient building at a cost that rivalled a comparable wood structure.

Rocker Square’s precast components include corefloor, beams & columns, load-bearing end walls and cladding panels.

The apartments were built in five months—in time for students to move-in at the start of the 2012 academic year.

“The precast concrete option allowed us to meet the very short time table for construction,” Shafai explained. “That was very impressive to all involved; the sound proofing and the energy efficiency of the structure made this construction method our choice for future similar projects.”

He added, “Gage Brothers and Scull Construction, and the rest of the project team did a great job meeting the budgets and the project schedule without sacrificing any of the project quality.”

“It was great to have a local developer team with local contractors and suppliers help a local state institution.”

The Rocker Square I apartments are home to 116 residents and primarily consist of 1,240-square-foot units with four single 10-foot-by-7-foot bedrooms and an 11-foot-by-7-foot living room. There are also a handful of two and three bedroom units. All of the apartment units are furnished and other features include a group study room, free laundry in each unit and easy access to an Einstein Bagels shop on the first floor.

Precast concrete housing structures provide superior resistance to wind damage, fire, earthquakes, decay, mold and mildew provides lower maintenance and insurance costs.

Termites also can’t eat concrete.

“This new dorm is practical and functional,” said Heather Wilson, president of the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology. “As a private-sector project which the University leases, it was designed for flexibility of use, including potential conversion to classrooms or offices.”

Building projects like Rocker Square I to house students are part of the institution’s long-term strategic plan to help the School of Mines become recognized as a pre-eminent technological university, a place that can attract and retain top-notch faculty and students while also benefiting the rest of the community.

A growing college campus can help revitalize a city and create lively pedestrian corridors where there were once downtrodden storefronts and aging neighborhoods.

“Rocker Square I also started the redevelopment of an aging downtown neighborhood on the edge of our campus, which continues with more public and private sector investment. It is a great example of transformative architecture that inspires others to move a city forward,” added President Wilson.

Precast concrete’s enduring materials and flexibility with a virtually limitless set of colors, textures and shapes make it the best choice for collegiate housing projects like Rocker Square I.

Shafai added, “We are very proud to be part of such a great project in the State of South Dakota.”

In the 2016-2017 academic year, Rocker Square I will be reserved for upperclass students—juniors, seniors and graduate students. Rocker Square I was followed by the construction of two more Gage Brothers projects—Rocker Square II (2013) and Placer Hall, which will open its doors this fall.

Rocker Square I Additional Project Details

Features of Rocker Square I include:

• 4-bedroom units include 2 full bathrooms
• 3-bedroom and 2-bedroom units include 1 full bathroom
• Free laundry in each unit
• Wireless Internet Access
• Cable television
• Furnished living rooms with couch, loveseat, tables, and television
• Furnished bedrooms with full-sized bed, dresser, desk/chair
• Kitchen with full-sized refrigerator, microwave, and dishwasher plus bar seating

Many colleges and universities across the country have a portfolio of aging residence halls that were constructed for the post-war generation. A place to sleep, a desk for studying, and a dining hall nearby was all that was expected when parents tearfully deposited their children at college to continue their preparation to adulthood. However, times have changed, and today’s college students have no interest in yesteryear’s modest dormitory-style living.

Institutions are asking questions about what their dormitories should be. For research-based universities like South Dakota State University, success in the dog-eat-dog fight for bright, driven students—and the research grants and tuition revenue that comes with them—depends on meeting or exceeding student expectations for on-campus housing.

In 2012, SDSU sought to create a new housing experience that was appealing to potential students and also functioned as the setting for robust intellectual and character growth of the modern college student.

South Dakota’s only land-grant institution requires undergraduates to live on campus for their first two years after high school and in a significant shift in previous design processes, SDSU administrators looked to the student body for input on the design of the new buildings.

SDSU surveyed more than 1,500 students and their collective voice requested residential halls that were affordable, lively, state-of-the-art, and green. They proposed an environment that reflected the creativity of the institution and emboldened students to make lasting connections to people and ideas.

Students also wanted living quarters that were in close proximity to the services they used most; the student union, classrooms and the wellness center.

The end result is Jackrabbit Grove, a four building, 800-bed residential community for SDSU underclassmen and Honors College students in Brookings, SD.  With furnished rooms, community gathering areas, kitchens, and laundry facilities, Jackrabbit Grove has quickly become one of the premiere housing options on the SDSU campus.

Jackrabbit Grove carefully integrated with existing housing and the University’s desire to create a modern housing experience. It was preceded by Jackrabbit Village, a 408-bed residential community that was completed in 2010. Gage Brothers Concrete was the precaster for both Jackrabbit Village and Jackrabbit Grove, while Koch Hazard was the architect of record for both projects.

Precast panel construction was utilized to accommodate a very aggressive construction schedule, while ensuring long-term durability and ease of maintenance. The use of precast concrete also reduced site disturbance, as fewer trucks and less time were required for construction which minimized traffic disturbance on the SDSU campus.

Thin-set brick was included in the panels to complement the surrounding campus architecture and obtain the aesthetic appeal desired by students.

Three separate precast designs teams were utilized concurrently to support two separate and concurrent erection crews which completed within 14 months—in time for students to move-in prior to the start of the 2013 fall semester.

The primary goal for Jackrabbit Grove was student comfort.“We’re after the student comfort factor because that translates into happiness with the living environment which translates into a connection to campus and of course ultimately produces student success connected with their academic efforts,” said Douglas Wermedal, SDSU Associate Vice President for Student Affairs.

Jackrabbit Grove reduces previous SDSU community sizes from 100 residents per floor to 36. The number of students sharing a community bathroom is reduced from 50 students to 18.

This vast reduction assists in community building, encouraging residents’ affinity for their space and interaction with other students on their floor.

“Students told us to get the floors smaller,” said Wermedal. He added that a community of 35 students was determined to be a comfortable number for the Upper Midwest student to connect with initially on campus.

Lounge areas on each floor connect with the large kitchen and include a fireplace and flat screen television.

And according to Wermedal, you have to pay attention to the convenience and the efficiency of the bathroom space in a house that students built. Individual locking units for toiletries have eliminated the need for a portable shower caddy and given each student their own personal space.

For this LEED Silver-certified project, sustainability was considered every step of the way, including daylighting and lighting controls, low flow fixtures, increased ventilation and a very high percentage of regional materials.

SDSU students also stressed the importance of hydration and a healthy lifestyle to school administrators. Every floor in Jackrabbit Grove is equipped with an H20 bottle filling station with a digital counter that shows how many plastic bottles have been kept out of landfills.

The project’s success is ultimately measured in students’ reactions, and Jackrabbit Grove is alive with activity just days into each semester of operation. The newest addition to SDSU campus has set a high standard for residential life projects moving forward.

“A residence hall is an important building that provides a home away from home and will be the center of most of the cherished memories in a student’s academic career,” said Gage Brothers president Tom Kelley. “It was very energizing to be able to collaborate with the university and student stakeholders to complete such an important project on the SDSU campus.” Click here to view the Jackrabbit Grove photo gallery (c/o Cipher Imaging Architectural Photography).