St. Peter Food Co-op and Deli receives STARR Award from the Minnesota Shopping Center Association

MANKATO, Minn. (December 9, 2011) — The Minnesota Shopping Center Association (MSCA) recently announced their 2011 Shopping Center Tribute Awards for Retail Real Estate (STARR). The St. Peter Food Co-op and Deli received the prestigious Design & Aesthetics Exterior Renovation/Remodel Award in the under 20,000 square feet category. The St. Peter Food Co-op and Deli was designed by Paulsen Architects--a full-service architecture, engineering, interior design and planning firm based in Mankato. The awards were presented at the MSCA STARR Award Ceremony on December 5, 2011 at the Golden Valley Country Club and are featured on the MSCA website at www.msca-online.com.

The Co-op which is member-owned and committed to offering natural, organic, Fair Trade and locally produced food, opened at its new location in the spring of 2011. The project was selected for the STARR Award after entries were reviewed and judged by a group of industry specialists, professionals and peers closely involved with retail real estate. The exterior renovation/remodel design judging criteria includes the before and after story and the enhancement of the retail structure including: innovative design, construction approach, re-positioning strategies, tenant mix and integration into the community.

Paulsen Architects worked closely with the Co-op and general contractor RW Carlstrom from planning stages through final construction to fast track the project which took less than five months for a total building renovation. With the decision to reuse a vacated auto dealership, the Co-op found the ideal open structure for their grocery and deli space needs. The team reused many elements from the original structure including wood roof joists for the new interior ceiling and the terrazzo from the auto showroom’s floor for the community room.

The renovated facility now provides the space the Co-op needed to expand and offer a greater variety of products in a location that better serves its member owners and the greater southern Minnesota community.

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