Welcome back to Building Buzz, where we round up the headlines making waves in Minnesota's commercial construction world.

From billion-dollar data centers in Iowa to an ambitious 400-home redevelopment plan in Columbia Heights, the first week of June didn’t skimp on bold announcements. We’re talking new manufacturing facilities, major apartment projects, and infrastructure updates that could shift how the Midwest builds, connects, and powers up.

Plus, ongoing tariff shakeups and permitting reforms are rippling through supply chains, with both immediate and long-term effects.

Whether you’re watching steel prices or scouting your next project site, there’s a lot to dig into this week. Let’s break ground on the latest.
 

MAY 29

JBS USA to Invest $135M in New Sausage Plant in Perry, Iowa
Facility | Industrial
JBS USA announced May 29th that it will invest $135-million to construct a state-of-the-art production facility in Perry, Iowa. Pending local approval, the JBS facility is scheduled to break ground in late 2025 and begin operations in late 2026. The company said in a statement that the plant will produce 130-million-pounds of sausage annually and process 500,000 sows each year, enough to feed roughly four-million people nationwide. (ConstructConnect)
 

MAY 30

Google to Invest Another $7B in Iowa in Next Two Years
Data Centers
Google will invest an additional $7-billion across Iowa in the next two years, primarily to expand data centers in Cedar Rapids and Council Bluffs, Google officials confirmed at an investment announcement at the Google Cedar Rapids site on May 30th. A Google spokesperson declined to further specify the new Cedar Rapids project estimate, or how the $7-billion investment will be distributed across the state, but company officials said during the event that the investment will help expand the company's cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure. (Corridor Business Journal)
 

JUNE 2

Construction Supply Chains See Modest Impact From Tariffs
Industry News - Tariffs  |  Supply Chains
Nonresidential Construction costs have modestly increased across the nation, while the supply chain is feeling the ripple effects of global trade policy and evolving tariffs from Washington. That's according to the latest Mortenson Construction Cost Index, which tracked costs, employment and material prices throughout the first quarter of 2025. Labor and material availability have been steady throughout the first months of the year but stop-and-go tariff measures have created uncertainty for construction and developers alike. Most markets adjusted by improving their sourcing and shedding constraints, but researchers said they expected cost volatility in certain market categories. (Finance & Commerce)
 

Thicket Hill Vineyard to Bring 120-Acre Winery & Event Center to Dayton
Recreation & Entertainment | Restaurant
The Bernens will build a 14,000-square-foot event center building atop a bluff that will include a 6,500-square-foot ballroom event space, a wine tasting area, patios and more. They hope to open the event center in June 2026. They'll start serving wine then, but they are currently growing 10-acres worth of vines that should be ready to serve as wine by Fall 2026. It would be one of the closest vineyard-wedding venues to downtown Minneapolis. A plethora of hotels and restaurants are nearby, especially in Maple Grove and Rogers, and the whole corridor is "booming" with activity. The Bernens also hope to get a full liquor license and have themed event nights. The venue would also be open to corporate or private events. (Minneapolis - St. Paul Business Journal)
 

Trump's Spike in Steel Tariffs to Have Damaging Ripple Effects
Industry News - Tariffs
President Donald Trump's doubling of tariffs on foreign steel and aluminum could hit Americans in an unexpected place: grocery aisles. The announcement on May 30th of a staggering 50% levy on those imports stoked fear that big-ticket purchases from cars to washing machines to house could see major price increases. But those metals are so ubiquitous in packaging, they're likely to pack a punch across consumer products from soup to nuts. (Finance & Commerce)
 

JUNE 3

60-Unit Affordable Apartment Planned in North Minneapolis
Affordable Housing  |  Athletic Facility  |  Multi-Family
The project team --- which includes Premier Development Corp. and a subsidiary of Preservation Housing Trust of Minnesota --- plans to demolish the vacant church at Washburn and Lowry Avenues North to make way for a new six-story, 60-unit affordable apartment building. A city staff report reveals that the building will offer apartments for households at or below 30% to 50% of the area's median income. The proposed units range in size from one- to four-bedrooms, according to the project narrative. The building will include amenities such as co-working spaces, a fitness center, a community room, an outdoor children's play area, and outdoor gardening space. (Finance & Commerce)
 

Minnesota Power Unveils Their New Transmission Line Project
Substation  |  Transmission Lines
Minnesota Power is showing off plans for their Iron Range-St. Louis County-Arrowhead Transmission Line project. It's a 63-mile, 345-kilo-volt transmission line that will run from Grand Rapids to the St. Louis County substation near Hermantown. Minnesota Power says it will help make the power grid more reliable and efficient. It's part of Minnesota Power's plan to establish a route and eventually submit a certificate of need to the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission. This new transmission line will also enhance regional transfer capability and grid reliability in the Upper Midwest. (WDIO News)
 

JUNE 4

400-Plus Homes Planned at Former Medtronic Site
Affordable Housing  |  Commercial & Retail  |  Multi-Family  |  Parking Structure  |  Public Infrastructure
A redevelopment that would bring more than 400 new housing units and other fresh uses to the former Medtronic campus in Columbia Heights is advancing after a positive review from the city's planning commission. Kaas Wilson Architects, on behalf of Lincoln Avenue Communities, is pitching a plan to develop the vacant, 12-acre campus with two six-story, 132-unit affordable multi-family buildings, and 150 to 175 market-rate apartments. Located at 800 53rd Avenue next to Sullivan Lake, the campus would also accommodate 58 townhomes, commercial space, and "associated park and infrastructure improvements as well as multi-modal transportation facilities," according to a city staff report. The Columbia Heights Planning Commission recommended approval of a preliminary plat, rezoning to planned unit development and other requests related to the multi-phase development. City documents reveal that the project would created 268 multi-family units in the first two phases. Up next would be 58 townhomes in the third phase and 150 to 175 market-rate units in the final round of construction, which also includes 12,000-square-feet of speculative commercial space. (Finance & Commerce)
 

Oakdale Apartments 'The Harlan' Fully Leased; Developer Will Add Second Building
Athletic Facility  |  Commercial & Retail  |  Multi-Family
The developer of The Harlan, a luxury apartment complex in Oakdale, plans to begin work soon on a sister property after the initial building leased all its units just months after its debut. Avic Development built The Harlan, which opened last November at 7570 32nd Street North. Level 10 Property Management said that the 156-unit property is now at 100% occupancy. The building includes a mix of one-bedroom, two-bedroom, and three-bedroom layouts, with amenities like a fitness studio, work-from-home suites, and an outdoor dog run. The company hopes to repeat its success with a second phase --- an as-yet-unnamed building with around 160-units. The new four-story building, located across Marketplace North from The Harlan, could include amenities such as a swimming pool, sauna, and hot tub, as well as a speakeasy room and a fourth-floor sky lounge with an outdoor patio. The new development will include a separate retail building as well. (Minneapolis - St. Paul Business Journal)
 

St. Paul's Highland Bridge Project Advances with New Retail, Apartments Following Developer-City Accord
Commercial & Retail  |  Mixed-Use  |  Multi-Family  |  Parking Structure
St. Paul leaders and Ryan Cos. US Inc. formally began construction on a new $68-million phase of Highland Bridge, the giant redevelopment of the city\'s former Ford plant site. The Pioneer Press has a report on the milestone, which will deliver retail space, apartments, and other properties. It also ends a long stalemate between city officials and the developer over issues like rent control and density. The construction will include four buildings: a 97-unit mixed-use apartment building, a parking ramp, and several single-story retail buildings. A Tierra Encantada day care center is already lined up for one of the retail properties. Including space in the apartment building, the phase will include 35,000-square-feet of retail. Except for a Lunds & Byerlys store and a medical office building, most of the development so far at Highland Bridge has been residential. (Minneapolis - St. Paul Business Journal)
 

University of Minnesota Foundation, Mortenson Plan 10-Story Innovation Building Near Campus
Commercial & Retail  |  Facility  |  Office  |  Restaurant
The team behind a project to develop 12-acres on the eastern edge of the University of Minnesota's Minneapolis campus will seek city feedback this week to move forward with the first building as part of the larger vision. University of Minnesota Foundation Real Estate Advisors (UMFREA), in partnership with Mortenson Co., has submitted plans for the first piece of vertical construction on the overall development, called the Minnesota Innovation Exchange, or The Mix, formerly known as East Gateway. Those first plans are for a 10-story office building with ground-level commercial space. The first flow would have 18,500-square-feet of retail space, including a 5,000-square-foot corner area for a restaurant, according to the submitted plans. Levels above that would have office or lab space. (Minneapolis - St. Paul Business Journal)
 

White House Unveils Plan for Tech-Focused Permit Reforms
Industry News - Environmental Review  |  Federal Infrastructure Projects
The Council on Environmental Quality has issued its Permitting Technology Action Plan, which seeks to modernize federal environmental review and permitting processes for a plethora of infrastructure projects, according to a May 30th press release from the White House. The plan fulfills an April 15th memorandum signed by President Donald Trump that directs agencies to make maximum use of technology in federal environmental reviews and permitting processes, according to the CEQ's Permitting Innovation Center website. Its goal with the new plan is to speed up the permitting process, saying in the release, that the CEQ will build tools to allow federal agencies "to accelerate their environmental review and permitting processes --- with results in weeks or months, not years." (Construction Dive)
 

JUNE 5

A UAE Aluminum Giant Could Bring the US its First New Aluminum Plant Since 1980
Industry News - Aluminum  |  Metal Production
Emirates Global Aluminum, one of the world's largest aluminum producers, is moving forward with plans to invest $4-billion to develop a primary production plan in Inola, Oklahoma. The project, expected to be operational by the end of 2026, will have the capacity to produce 600,000-tons of primary aluminum and create 1,000 jobs, according to a memorandum of understanding between EGA and Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt. The production site, also known as a smelter, will be the largest of its kind in the U.S. once completed and nearly double the nation's metal-producing capacity, according to the Oklahoma Department of Commerce. (Manufacturing Dive)
 

Milwaukee Apartments Reopening After TCE Concerns
Affordable Housing  |  Multi-Family  |  Parking Structure  |  Recreation & Entertainment
Part of an adaptive reuse, affordable housing apartment complex will reopen after being evacuated two years ago over chemical concerns. In 2023, city health officials ordered 150 residents to evacuate the east block of the Community at the Corridor, a low-income housing development separated by 32nd Street just north of Center Street in Milwaukee, when acute levels of the chemical trichloroethylene were found in the soil and groundwater. In May, the Milwaukee Health Department and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources concluded there was no longer an acute health hazard at the property for TCE levels. Since Scott Crawford Inc. started construction work from "day one" to bring the building, a former Briggs & Stratton factory, back to occupancy, they now want to lease out 130-units in the east block. The Community at the Corridor will offer a range of u nits and amenities, including underground parking and a recreational space. (Finance & Commerce)
 

New Law Creates Economic Development Flexibility for Ramsey County
Economic Development
Bipartisan legislation signed into law this spring allows Ramsey County to establish an economic development authority, a move that's expected to take the county's business support initiatives to the next level. The legislation doesn't provide new funding, but it will enable Ramsey County's Housing and Redevelopment Authority to support a wider range of community initiatives, including small business support, county officials said. Previously, Ramsey County's HRA was able to fund only "housing-related projects." The establishment of an EDA will allow for "deeper investments in small business support, commercial corridors, workforce infrastructure, and the stability of the neighborhoods we [Ramsey County] serves." (Finance & Commerce)
 

New Steel, Aluminum Tariffs Will Push Construction Costs Higher
Industry News - Aluminum  |  Construction Costs  |  Steel  |  Tariffs
New tariffs on foreign steel and aluminum will raise construction costs further, adding to price spikes triggered by an initial 25% tariff on the materials earlier this year, according to a June 3rd industry webinar hosted by Skanska USA. President Donald Trump increased steel and aluminum tariffs from 25% to 50% on June 4th, doubling down on a strategy that has reshaped construction supply chains since his administration took over. Only the United Kingdom is exempt from the hike until July 9th, per the U.S.-U.K. Economic Prosperity Deal. The move will inflate material costs across a range of commercial building materials, at a time when many projects stand on shaky financial ground, according to panelists. (Construction Dive)
 

JUNE 6

Milwaukee Suburb OKs $100M Apartment Complex at Former Mall Site
Athletic Facility  |  Demolition  |  Mixed-Use  |  Multi-Family  |  Street & Sidewalk Improvements
In the first step toward construction, plans to replace the former Boston Store at Southridge Mall in Greendale with a multi-phase, mixed-use apartment complex gained early approval. The village of Greendale Plan Commission unanimously approved a general development plan to raze the store and build four buildings in multiple phases at 5300 South 76th Street, which is on the west side of the Southridge Mall. The development plan will go to the Village Board on June 17. Depending on approvals, construction could start in late 2025, the project architect said. The master plan includes 1,137,000-square-feet of building space with new roads and a green space in the center of the development, plans showed. The project will feature 739-units and will aim to create a "pedestrian oriented, mixed-use extension of the village," architects said. Project amenities include a pool, fitness center, club lounge, dog spa, golf simulator, package room and co-working space, officials said. KTGY shared master plan details on the $100-million development, which is expected to be completed in eight years as the developer builds based on demand. (Finance & Commerce)