FIRST DISTRICT ASSOCIATION LITCHFIELD, MINN. /// by Monica SchulteS While the office sector has declined as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, food processing, especially in the Midwest, has not. These food processing projects require lots of upfront plan-ning and specialized infrastructure, making them complex undertakings. A traditional building design must be combined with special-ized infrastructure, processes, equipment, and then add swift pro-ject schedules and design flexibility. Project delivery is also com-plicated because equipment lead time often exceeds the duration of construction. Precast concrete design-build projects have enabled First District Association to expand their operations in stages. As a prominent corporate citizen the precast concrete wall finishes provide a pleasing aesthetic across the campus. Photo: Country Gallery Photography. Cooperative First District Association (FDA) is the largest farmer-owned dairy processing plant in the Upper Midwest. They have undergone many additions to meet consumer demand, most recently ex-panding their cheese plant, lactose plant, and milk-intake facility in Litchfield, Minn. The processing plant now takes in about 7.5 million lb of milk per day. Upgrading the infrastructure and replac-ing aging equipment was critical to maintaining the cooperative that started more than 100 years ago. To stay competitive, FDA collaborated with design and con-struction professionals to map current and future manufactur-ing and storage needs. It was key to build in flexibility to allow for changing requirements. The design-build team of Strack Con-struction, Excel Engineering, and Wells have completed several additions for FDA. The dairy cooperative has seen several often overlapping phas-es of expansion using precast concrete. The same project team has collaborated with FDA for years, incorporating flexibility for planned future additions while conferring with the equipment supplier in these planning efforts, because the total–precast con-crete structure sets the stage for the food processes within. One of the many challenges influencing design decisions was the prominent location in the City of Litchfield, which highlighted its lack of room to expand and its industrial façade. As FDA expanded in the community, they wanted to elevate their appearance from the basic utilitarian approach of the past, says Daniel St. Louis, architect with Excel Engineering. “Aesthetics were incorporated into the precast exterior through exposed ag-gregate and sandblast finishes. All subsequent additions matched the mix design to present a cohesive campus.” To make room for the planned expansion, the facility purchased neighboring residential properties. Dairy operations never ceased during construction, adding the challenge of working in tight quarters. Schedules were critical to FDA and were discussed ex-tensively among the project team to meet project timelines. “We ASCENT, WINTER 2023 27