Energy efficient building extends Target brand, provides model for future distribution centers

MINNEAPOLIS (June 30, 2008) – Ryan Companies US, Inc. announced today that it has just completed the turnover of Target Corporation’s first perishable food distribution center in Lake City, Fla. Once Target’s occupancy of the building is completed over the coming months, it should begin shipping fresh produce, frozen, and refrigerated foods to SuperTarget stores in the Southeast in late summer.

“We’ve had a wonderful lasting relationship with Target over the past four decades,” said Eric Engh, division vice president, Ryan Companies US, Inc. “Maintaining that relationship requires that we bring value and innovation to every project. For this distribution center we applied our experiences with Target and other distribution center customers to create a unique model that will serve our customer well into the future.”

Ryan, which has previously built six industrial buildings for Target, provided development, design/build and construction services for the project, including site search and due diligence analysis, land option agreements, building and site design management and construction management. The team broke ground on the 430,000 s.f. building in the fall of 2006.

As the first perishable food distribution center for Target, the project design team created a building concept that aesthetically extended the Target brand to its industrial buildings. Unique to this structure, when compared to many other distribution centers, is the vertical storage function and design. Wall heights around the building range between 24 and 80 feet with no intermediate floors, leaving a large volume of space for operations. Pre-finished metal and pre-cast concrete wall panels were used on the façade to provide longevity and enhance aesthetics, while metal and glass accents identify the building entrances and provide a less-industrial experience to the building.

Because the building will handle perishable food products, refrigerating this large volume of space was a primary engineering consideration. The building utilizes a two-stage ammonia refrigeration system with full generator back-up to ensure continued operations even under loss of power. Operational efficiency of these systems was critical to ensure conformance to Target’s request to maximize operational efficiency and minimize the company’s environmental footprint. The engineering team comprised of Ryan, Leo A Daly, and Target, invested hundreds of hours into energy modeling analysis to develop and validate a highly efficient system that uses minimal amounts of electricity and water. The resulting system is up to 50 percent more energy efficient than a standard refrigeration system used in similar-sized distribution centers.

Keeping the project on schedule was no small challenge, due to the magnitude of the material handling equipment specified for the building. In essence, many parts of the building were designed around the material handling equipment, which could only be brought in as specific construction milestones were reached in different building areas. The construction team kept on schedule with compartmentalized construction timelines that were continuously updated to make sure the necessary building sections were completed in time to receive the equipment. Weather events repeatedly posed scheduling challenges to the team, with a month of heavy rainstorms, two weeks of firestorms and sheer winds that damaged local utility infrastructures. Despite these challenges, the project remained on schedule and on budget.

Target, pleased with the results of the Lake City facility, has engaged Ryan to design and build its’ second perishable food distribution center in Cedar Falls, Iowa. The design of the new facility, which broke ground in August of 2007 and is currently scheduled to open in late summer 2009, is similar to the Lake City model, with local adaptations and aesthetic upgrades. The Ryan design and construction team is using Building Information Modeling (BIM) and 4D scheduling to communicate design intent, perform estimating and quantity takeoffs, and coordinate on-site activities. Subcontractors on the project are also using the BIM model in various ways to help reduce material and labor costs to the project and increase efficiency.  One subcontractor, for example, used the model to accurately cut and pre-assemble several thousand feet of pipe in an offsite, controlled environment. With BIM, the decision-making process has been better informed and more efficient, making unforeseen scheduling challenges, such as Cedar Falls’ worst winter on record, a non-issue for the construction timeline.

“BIM is a great communications tool for all the partners,” explained Anthony Johnson, senior project manager, Ryan Companies US, Inc. “It lets the entire team provide their individual opinions and test our collective assumptions, as we can literally put the building together piece by piece, before we even break ground.”

About Ryan Companies, US, Inc.
Ryan Companies US Inc., a nationally recognized developer, design-builder and real estate manager, has specialized in fully integrated solutions for more than 70 years. Ryan builds lasting relationships with a project delivery model based on full-service customized solutions and total collaboration – pairing the customer’s needs and expectations with the talents of a team of developers, financiers, architects, engineers, constructors and property managers. In addition to its Minneapolis office, Ryan has offices in Chicago, Phoenix, San Diego, Tampa, Cedar Rapids, Davenport and Des Moines, Iowa. Ryan was named the 2007 National Developer of the Year by the National Association of Office and Industrial Properties (NAIOP).

Lake City Distribution Center Project Team

Editor’s note: Interviews with Ryan executives are available by contacting Sarah Voigt at 612-455-1784 or svoigt@psbpr.com