Recycling Part of America’s Shopping Mall
October 24, 2023
This article was originally published in the Sept/Oct 2008 issue of DEMOLITION magazine.
Opening its doors in 1992, Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, has seen over half a billion visitors and is recognized as the number one tourist destination in the Midwest. One of the key, unique features about this 4.2-million-square-foot mall with 520 stores and 12,550 parking spaces is the amusement park located in the heart of the shopping complex. Filled with roller coasters, log rides, eats and more entertainment for the whole family, last year it was agreed to give the park a needed facelift.
Originally, the amusement park was named “Knott’s Camp Snoopy,” themed with Charles Schultz’s entire cartoon gang, since he himself was a Minnesota native. For a brief period of no sponsorship, it was simply titled “The Park at MOA,” but finally, to reach out to a younger crowd, the mall teamed up with Nickelodeon to renovate the seven-acre amusement park into “Nickelodeon Universe.”
National Demolition Association member Lloyd’s Construction Services Inc. of Savage, Minnesota, was awarded the selective demolition and earthwork portions of the project, and the remodel commenced on Aug. 27, 2007.
Transitioning from the woodland theme of the previous park into the brightly colored Nickelodeon theme plan would require some extensive work, including demolition of rides, stores and other features that would no longer be utilized, and earthwork necessary for the creation of new thrill rides.
One of the mall’s major concerns about the renovation, however, was for the park to remain open to the public throughout the entire venture. As a result, Lloyd’s worked as “ghosts” from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m., driving trucks and equipment throughout the mall, and leaving it looking virtually untouched the next day.
“While trying to get as much accomplished as we could in one night, one of the biggest challenges of this project was the tight quarters,” said John Lloyd, vice-president of Lloyd’s Construction Services. “It was taking a ship out of a bottle.”
All of the debris had to be hauled out of the mall at night and brought to the property across the street in roll-off containers for sorting. Massive amounts of steel, wood and concrete were separated and hauled to various processors at this location. Lloyd’s Construction Services handled more than 2,500 tons of construction and demolition debris from the job.
“Just like most other profitable demolition contractors, Lloyd’s Construction Services implemented extensive and commonly practiced salvaging procedures, which resulted in a recycling rate of 80%,” said Lloyd. “Although this was not a LEED certified project, Mall of America still encouraged recycling and required reporting on the project, which was not a stress factor for us, because like the majority in this industry, we were simply doing business as usual.”
At first glance, the renovation of this popular amusement park appeared to be quite a difficult task. However, with Lloyd’s Construction Services Inc. and others involved on the job, the project was able to be a positive impact on the environment while still providing tourists with some updated fun at one of the most famous malls in the world.