Wilderness Inquiry Marks Milestone with Headquarters Groundbreaking
Tuesday, May 14th, 2024
Pope Design Group joined Wilderness Inquiry, Anderson CC and other project partners on the groundbreaking of the organization’s new headquarters building in Bloomington, MN, last week.
Wilderness Inquiry has been bringing people of all ages, backgrounds, identities, and abilities together to enjoy the outdoors for 46 years. This new headquarters will be the perfect home from which to grow their impact as they strengthen their Minnesota roots and extend their reach nationwide.
The existing 19,700 SF Bloomington building previously housed both office and warehouse functions. The renovation will create a welcoming and functional environment for Wilderness Inquiry’s headquarters. It will include office and collaboration space for employees, a large gathering and training area, commercial kitchen, and supply and equipment storage.
Additionally, there will be minor exterior architecture work to create a new front entrance and add some additional windows for daylighting.
Gonzalo Villares, AIA, Managing Principal and COO at Pope Design Group, joined several members of the community and project team to speak about the design process and the importance of the project at the groundbreaking ceremony.
Villares remarked, “Wilderness Inquiry is a fabulous organization that gives people of all ages and abilities access to the outdoors. Accessibility and inclusivity are important values that we share, and the design concept for this project reflects those values. It was also great to collaborate with our friend and former colleague Paul Holmes to design a new headquarters for Wilderness Inquiry’s success into the future.”
Construction is anticipated to be completed November 2024.
Project Team:
- Owner: Wilderness Inquiry
- Architect and Interior Designer: Pope Design Group
- General Contractor: Anderson CC
- Structural Engineer: IMEG Corp
- Civil Engineer: Sunde Engineering
- Landscape Architect: Damon Farber
- Food Service: BOELTER