Natural Harvest Foods

732 4th Street North
Virginia, MN 55792

	Participant information: Energy Panel Structures Lee Bergum 603 N. Van Gordon Avenue Graettinger, IA 51342 Phone: 612-499-0756 Email Address: lbergum@epsbuildings.com Website: www.epsbuildings.com Category: Commercial/Industrial/Institutional Buildings under 10,000 sq. ft.
2018 SIPA Building Excellence Awards Entry

Project information:
Natural Harvest Food Co-op (2018 BEA)
732 4th Street North
Virginia, MN 55792

Date Completed: 04/2017

Total cost of project: $2,045,500
Dimensions of building: 134' x 80'
Total sq. ft. of conditioned space: 8,600 sqft

Built By:
Max Gray Construction, Inc.
Bryan Ross
2501 Fifth Ave. West
Hibbing, MN 55746

Panels Manufactured By: Energy Panel Structures

Designed By:
Energy Panel Structures
Lee Bergum
603 North Van Gordon Avenue
Graettinger, IA 51342

Total sq. ft. of conditioned space: 8,600 sqft.

Describe the end use of the building:
Natural Harvest Co-op started as a buying club in 1976 for nutritious whole foods at
more reasonable prices than were available locally. They had outgrown their previous
location and were looking to build a new expanded facility.

Natural Harvest Co-op was looking to build an energy efficient, green facility. The project was projected to start in October, and the shell of the building had to go up in a hurry to get the building enclosed before Minnesota Winter hit. SIP construction was a big selling point on this project.

SIP wall thickness and core material: 8-1/4" panels, a core of rigid foam insulation between two skins OSB interior/Plywood exterior R-33, R-44 insulation in the ceilings

By utilizing SIPs on this project, we were able to save time and labor, reduce construction costs and ended up with a very energy efficient building. which helps the owner keep their heating and cooling costs down to a minimum.  There were a lot of wood columns incorporated into the design as well as an open ceiling concept that utilized LVL's as a structural component of the roof design.  High efficiency rooftop forces air, natural gas units sized in accordance with the coolers and kitchen equipment installed in the building.

Energy efficient lighting utilized throughout the building.

Building in Northern Minnesota in the Winter brings with it a lot of challenges. Working with EPS on the SIP portion saved valuable time in getting the building enclosed before bad weather stopped the project. Using SIP construction in this part of the county is a great building component to keep costs to a minimum.

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