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CASE STUDY: Energy Eff ic iency — Central Region

Park Rapids Armory Restoration TurnsEyesore into Revitalization ProjectBy Jenna Lewein, CERTs Research Assistant • April 2012

To transform an aging building into a modern,energy efficient community space is a challenge thatwould intimidate many, but for the City of ParkRapids, MN it was seen as an opportunity.Collaboration between the City of Park RapidsEconomic Development Authority and The HubbardCounty Regional Economic DevelopmentCommission resulted in the move to turn thecrumbling but historically important Park RapidsArmory into the centerpiece of the community. Alocal developer, Echopoint Design andDevelopment, was brought in to manage the project.

The Old Armory

The project was broken up into two phases: Thefirst phase, which ran from 2009 to 2011, focused onproject planning, installing a storm water abatementsystem, and improving energy efficiency andbuilding accessibility. Clean-up was also a huge partof the first phase because the building housedabandoned storage tanks, asbestos, layers of leadpaint and PCBs that posed a huge threat to humanhealth and the environment.

In order to determine the best way to address thearmory’s energy efficiency issues, Park Rapidssought to conduct a feasibility study. They appliedand received a $7,000 grant from the Central CleanEnergy Resource Team (CERT) for the study. FromJanuary 2010 to April 2010, Park Rapids armory’scurrent condition was documented and energyaudits and historical assessments were conducted.All the possible ideas for restoring the building weredebated and an action plan was hammered out. Theplanning included the Park Rapid’s CityAdministrator, Bill Smith and the project’s managingpartner Alan Zemek, along with five other consult-ants who represented a number of disciplines: construction, power systems, design, and health andsafety. The final plans were approved by the ParkRapids City Council in 2009, which allowed theproject to apply for more grants to help with therestoration of the Armory.

According to Alan Zemek, the armory project manager, a successful rehabilitation project requiresthe integration of energy management systems,weatherization, heating & cooling zoning, peak loadenergy management, on-site generation of renew-able energy, and off-peak energy storage technology.The money that the project requested from theCentral CERT for its feasibility study was somethingthat the project needed to move forward.He explained that “a comprehensive study that integrates all of the methods that are available forgeneration of renewal energy on site, as well as energy management systems into an actionable plan,will help the redevelopment process.”

Project Snapshot

Total Project Cost: $15,000

CERTs Funding: $7,000

Anticipated Fuel Savings per year: 8,115 gals/fuel oil

Anticipated Wattage Savings per year:17,162 watts

Benefits: The creation of retail and livingspace for Park Rapids residents and ashowcase for urban revitalization

The old boiler in the Park Rapids ArmoryCERTs PARTNERS

University of MinnesotaExtension and RegionalSustainableDevelopmentPartnerships

Eureka Recycling

Southwest RegionalDevelopmentCommission

The Minnesota Project

Minnesota Departmentof Commerce, Division of Energy Resources

There were many issues and extra costs that came with retrofitting a 70-year-old building.The concentrated effort it took to remove all of the asbestos, lead paint and undergroundstorage tanks was surpassed only by the dramatic reduction in overall energy cost of thestructure. The cost to heat the 24,000-square foot structure by using the original 1930s boilerrequired 120 gallons of fuel oil per day. The old boiler worked at 50% efficiency, which overthe course of a month cost approximately $10,000 to operate. The huge sum required to keepthe building heated is a primary reason why for nearly 20 years, the armory had been anunheated storage facility and unusable to the community.

As part of the armory’s renovation, the old boiler heating system was replaced with newforced air natural gas furnaces that function at 95% efficiency that resulted in an 80%reduction in energy costs.

The New Armory

In May 2011, at the end of Phase 1 of the project, 8,000 square feet of “Armory Square” wasopened to the public. Right now it houses a local retailer, but Phase 2 of the project isexpanding into the rest of the building to make way for a restaurant, studio and officespaces, workshops, galleries and an event pavilion. This project enabled a community to notonly restore a historic landmark back to public use, but successfully incorporate featuresthat will serve as an example of responsible development for years to come.

For more information about the Park Rapids Armory project, check out page 24 of theNorthwest Minnesota Foundation’s 2011 Annual Report online at:http://www.nwmf.org/about/annual-report.html

Construction in the Park Rapids Armory required theremoval of lead paint and asbestos.

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Phase 1 of the Armory Project includes a retail shop.

Multiplying Benefits

“The feasibility study final report has already

been useful in attracting additional grant fund-

ing and lender support to the project. Also, when

this project was started, the city had no ordi-

nance that would allow installation of PV solar

systems. The city has now enacted just such an

ordinance. The benefits of this CERT grant will be

multiplied many times beyond the initial grant.”

– Alan Zemek, Project Manager, Echopoint Design and Development LLC

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