Our collection of awards and certifications reflects our world-class work for clients who value quality craftsmanship, as well as a culture that encourages personal and professional excellence.
St. Joseph the Workman Cathedral – 2022 ABC Eagle Award
Building: St. Joseph the Workman Cathedral
Location: LaCrosse, Wisconsin
Award: Eagle Award
Awarded By: Associated Builders and Contractors, Minnesota and North Dakota
Category: Historical Restoration
Building Restoration Corporation and Insite Consulting teamed up to address the deteriorating, cracking, and spalling Limestone that St. Joseph the Workman Cathedral in Lacrosse, WI was suffering from. BRC undertook the restoration of the 38,000 square feet of limestone enveloping the building along with the 65-foot-tall spire.
The most immediate concern was that the spire had experienced years of high-impact storms that caused severe deterioration of much of the Limestone. The Cathedral parishioners observed large spalls of Limestone on the ground around the bell tower, and large holes in the standing seam copper roof that shelters the Sanctuary.
With the scope of work acknowledged, BRC hired Scaffold Services to erect a massive scaffold system for our crew to safely access the work area, utilizing a 100-ton crane to pick and land the stone. Because the spire was tiered, the scaffold had to be designed so that the upper portions could be accessed without obstruction or unnecessary overreach.
After working through the access challenges, the next process was systematically removing, photographing, and marking the Limestone for resetting and replacement. Every piece of Limestone was removed from the spire and the spire base. Each stone, whether it was to be reset or replaced, was swung to the ground, sound tested, and inspected for integrity. If salvageable, the mortar was removed, and the Limestone was cleaned, patched, and stored for reinstallation. The questionable stone was measured, drafted, and sent to the manufacturer for production.
Another unique item was the installation of the Italian hand-carved crucifix to hang over the altar. This work involved an interior scaffold design that would provide safety for the crew while moving and installing the crucifix. The crucifix hung seven feet above the marble altar using custom solid brass brackets and rods fabricated by BRC’s metal shop.
Jackson County Courthouse – 2022 ABC Eagle & Innovation Award
Building: Jackson County Courthouse
Location: Jackson, Minnesota
Award: Eagle & Innovation Award
Awarded By: Associated Builders and Contractors, Minnesota and North Dakota
Category: Historical Restoration
The copper dome cladding restoration included removing the original copper cladding and replicating the original copper components while making some much needed improvements to the gutter system and other flashing details. The eight copper rosettes around the base of the dome were replicated to match the originals in every way. The Lady Justice statue was refinished with a coating system that matched the original gold gilding color perfectly. The statue was reinstalled in her original location and orientation at the top of the dome. The project introduced a heavier gauge copper cladding, repaired wood substrate, replica architectural copper components, flashing improvements and a refreshed statue to bring the project together and provided Jackson County, MN with a revitalized copper dome on top of their most prominent building.
Bowman Hall – UW Stout – ABC Eagle & Innovation Award
Building: Bowman Hall – University of Wisconsin, Stout
Location: Menomonie, Wisconsin
Award: Eagle & Innovation Award
Awarded By: Associated Builders and Contractors, Minnesota and North Dakota
Category: Historical Restoration
A building that exemplifies what it means to be historic, Bowman Hall is perhaps best known for its 165-foot tall bell tower that rises over downtown Menomonie, Wisconsin, from its position at the heart of the UW-Stout Campus. The building was first raised in 1898, and is the University’s second oldest. It earned its spot on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.
Our skilled masons replaced around 20,000 custom, hand molded face brick. Included in the brick replacement were 21 ornate brick shapes that had to be perfectly replicated to match the original brick. Our crew re-pointed nearly 30,000 square feet of wall area using period correct historic mortars, including lime putty. They also replaced or repaired almost 1,000 cubic feet of brownstone on the body of the building and the bell tower.
Our sheet metal team took every aspect of the copper tower roof and weather-vane assembly and dissected, analyzed, redesigned, and upgraded it from the original. They also managed to salvage and repair most of the original copper ornamental components from the weather-vane that were then reinstalled as part of the final assembly.
BRC recognizes the hard work of its Project Manager Mark Bailey and the hard work of his crew.
Plummer Building – Mayo Clinic – MC&MCA Honor Award for Excellence
Building: Plummer Building – Mayo Clinic
Location: Rochester, Minnesota
Award: Honor Award for Excellence in Masonry Design and Construction
Awarded By: Minnesota Concrete & Masonry Contractors Association
Category: Masonry Healthcare
Building Restoration Corporation (BRC) won this award for the restoration of the historic, Plummer Building – Mayo Clinic in Rochester.
Opened in 1928, the Plummer Building is a 15-story iconic building in the heart of the Mayo Clinic Campus in Rochester, MN. It is designated as a National Historic Landmark. This $1.9 million dollar restoration project completed by the BRC Rochester Crew included tuckpointing, chemical cleaning, individual brick replacement, joint resealing, thru-wall flashing, stone patching, replacing artifacts, and installing a control joint. The intricate terra-cotta masonry work and unique working conditions made this an exceptional project.
BRC recognizes the hard work of its Project Manager Brad Hoffman and the hard work of his crew. BRC would also like to recognize the efforts of the architects at Building Consulting Group Inc. for their work with this project.
2017 Bonstone Materials Certificate of Achievement
Building Restoration Corporation is always pushing to improve and utilize cutting edge technology and techniques to best serve our clients. A team from BRC recently attended a construction fabrication and restoration product training by Bonstone Materials Corporation. The team was trained how to use Bonstone’s newest line of construction adhesives for stone and masonry repairs. This training provided BRC with another resource to complete masonry repairs that will not only blend seamlessly with the existing stone, but will be strong enough to hold up for years to come.
Enger Tower – MC&MCA Honor Award for Excellence
Building: Enger Tower
Location: Duluth, Minnesota
Award: Honor Award for Excellence in Concrete Design & Construction
Awarded By: Minnesota Concrete & Masonry Contractors Association
Category: Masonry Restoration Out-State
Building Restoration Corporation (BRC) won this award for the restoration of the historic, national, and state landmark of the six-story Enger Tower in Duluth. This restoration required 100% interior and exterior tuckpointing, concrete repair, balcony repairs and replacement, façade cleaning, and a substantial amount of stone replacement, as well as miscellaneous steel work, plaster repair, and painting.
BRC recognizes the hard work of its Senior Project Manager John Felton and the hard work of his crew. BRC would also like to recognize the efforts of Architect Phil Waugh of Collaborative Design for his work with this project.
James J. Hill House – Award of Recognition
Building: James J. Hill House
Location: St. Paul, Minnesota
Awarded By: St. Paul Heritage Preservation Commission & American Institute of Architects – St. Paul Chapter
The scope of this project involved both brick and stone work. Major stone removal, replacement, and patching work were also completed. Ten large stone railings were replaced and reset and over 4,000 square feet of tuckpointing occurred along the house and adjacent wall structure. The project required complex scaffolding in efforts to reach a hard-to-reach wall over a steep stair well.The project restored one of the most historic structures within the state of Minnesota, located in the major downtown, residential and historic area of Saint Paul. This historic site remained operational and open to the public throughout the project.