Honeywell Buildings Fix-Up Double Estimates

MINNEAPOLIS-The cost of Wells Fargo’s renovation of its new 950,000-sf campus is likely to come in at more than double its original $20-million estimate. About a year ago, the San Francisco-based financial services company bought the old Honeywell corporate headquarters in the Philips neighborhood in south Minneapolis.

Going into the renovation, Wells Fargo officials had budgeted $20 million; now the costs are expected to hit $40 million to $50 million, says SusanDavis, senior vice president of corporation institutional group and senior manager for the site.

Perhaps the biggest surprise was that the mechanical systems in the building, including its heating, ventilating and air conditioning systems, had to becompletely replaced. Given that one of Honeywell’s main businesses is building climate control, Wells Fargo officials found this deficiency “pretty ironic.”