$29.6M Community Health Campus in Minneapolis Needs 6 Low Voltage Systems

A $29.6 million community health campus in Minneapolis requires 6 low voltage systems, creating an estimated $1.7 million opportunity for contractors in the Minnesota market.

Project Overview

The Native American Community Clinic (NACC) is building a transformative six-story, mixed-use facility at 1213 Franklin Avenue East in the heart of Minneapolis. The project combines a two-story, 43,000-square-foot community health clinic with 83 affordable housing units on the upper four floors, replacing the existing clinic on the site. With a total construction value of $29.6 million, this is one of the most significant healthcare-anchored developments currently underway in the Twin Cities.

Permit records filed with the City of Minneapolis indicate the project broke ground in spring 2025 and is on track for completion by September 2026. As of early 2026, construction has entered the final phase of exterior weather sealing, with insulation, exterior sheathing, and siding being installed to fully enclose the building. Interior buildout — where the majority of low voltage work occurs — is now moving forward.

The new facility will allow NACC to consolidate four separate clinic locations into one modern, purpose-built campus. The clinic will integrate physical, mental, and behavioral health services along with administrative space under one roof, responding to increased demand for healthcare services in the Native American community. The housing component will serve households between 30% and 60% of area median income across a mix of one-, two-, three-, and four-bedroom units.

Project	Native American Community Clinic & Housing Campus
Location	1213 Franklin Ave E, Minneapolis, MN
Total Value	$29.6 million
Project Type	Mixed-Use (Healthcare / Affordable Housing)
Status	Under Construction — Exterior Enclosure Phase
LV Score	9/10
Source	Minneapolis Commercial Permits

Key Players

This project brings together a notable team with deep roots in the Minneapolis community and specialized expertise in Indigenous design and healthcare construction.

Role	Company	Details
General Contractor	Greiner Construction	Founded in 1989, Greiner is one of the largest minority-owned commercial general contractors in the nation. Based in Minneapolis, the firm specializes in new construction, historic adaptive reuse, and housing projects across the Twin Cities. CEO Josh Helgesen leads the company with over 100 employees.
Architect	Full Circle Indigenous Planning + Design	A 100% Native American-owned and operated multidisciplinary architecture firm led by founder Sam Olbekson, citizen of the White Earth Nation of Minnesota Ojibwe. The firm has worked with over 50 tribes and specializes in culturally responsive design for Indigenous communities.
Owner / Developer	Native American Community Clinic (NACC)	NACC provides comprehensive healthcare services to the Native American community in Minneapolis. The new campus consolidates four existing locations into one modern facility to meet growing demand for integrated physical, mental, and behavioral health services.

Low Voltage Systems Breakdown

The NACC campus requires six distinct low voltage systems spanning life safety, security, communications, and patient care — a comprehensive scope driven by the healthcare occupancy on the lower floors and the residential occupancy above. The dual-use nature of the building adds complexity, as systems must serve both clinical environments with strict regulatory requirements and residential spaces with different code standards.

System	Category	Scope Description	Complexity
Fire Alarm	Life Safety	A six-story mixed-use building with healthcare occupancy requires a fully addressable fire alarm system with smoke detectors, heat detectors, pull stations, notification appliances, and duct detectors throughout. The healthcare floors will need area of rescue assistance stations and integration with the nurse call system. The residential floors require unit-level smoke and CO detection tied to the building-wide system. NFPA 72 compliance and AHJ coordination with the Minneapolis Fire Department are critical.	High
Structured Cabling	Data/Voice	The 43,000 SF clinic requires high-density Cat6A cabling to support electronic health records, medical imaging, telehealth, and administrative operations. The 83 residential units need individual data drops. Building-wide backbone cabling, telecommunications rooms on each floor, and fiber optic risers connecting to the main distribution frame are all part of the scope. Pathway planning through a hybrid concrete-and-wood-frame structure adds coordination complexity.	High
Access Control	Security	Healthcare facilities require controlled access between public, clinical, and restricted areas. The NACC campus will need card readers, electric locks, and door controllers at clinic entry points, pharmacy areas, records storage, administrative zones, and the residential lobby. Integration between the clinic access system and the residential key-fob system is a coordination point. After-hours access for emergency and on-call staff adds programming complexity.	High
CCTV / Video Surveillance	Security	Interior and exterior camera coverage for the clinic entrances, parking areas, loading dock, residential common areas, and building perimeter. The healthcare environment requires HIPAA-compliant camera placement to avoid capturing protected health information on screens or documents. Network video recorder (NVR) infrastructure with 30-day minimum retention and IP-based cameras on a dedicated VLAN.	Medium
Nurse Call	Life Safety	The two-story clinic serving physical, mental, and behavioral health patients requires a nurse call system in exam rooms, treatment areas, and restrooms. Staff notification via mobile devices or corridor lights, integration with the fire alarm for code events, and ADA-compliant pull cords in accessible restrooms are all standard requirements. The behavioral health wing may require anti-ligature fixtures and tamper-resistant devices.	High
Audio/Visual	AV	The clinic will need AV systems for patient education areas, community meeting rooms, telehealth consultation rooms, and waiting areas with digital signage. The housing component may include a community room with presentation capabilities. Equipment includes displays, speakers, microphones, DSP processing, and control systems. Telehealth rooms require clinical-grade cameras and audio for remote consultations.	Medium

Estimated Low Voltage Value

With no specific LV contract value published for this project, we can estimate the low voltage scope using industry benchmarks for mixed-use healthcare construction. The NACC campus presents a higher-than-average LV intensity due to its healthcare occupancy, nurse call requirements, and the need for systems to serve both clinical and residential floors.

Total Project Value	$29.6 million
Estimated LV Percentage	5.0% (blended healthcare/residential)
System Count Multiplier	1.15x (6 systems)
Estimated LV Contract Value	$1.7 million

The $1.7 million estimate reflects a blended rate between standard hospital benchmarks (6.5% midpoint) and multi-family residential (3% midpoint), weighted toward healthcare given that the clinic drives the majority of system complexity. Fire alarm and structured cabling will likely account for the largest portions of the LV budget — roughly 20-25% each — followed by nurse call (10-12%), access control (10-15%), CCTV (10-15%), and AV (8-12%).

For context, a $1.7 million LV contract is substantial enough to attract mid-sized specialty contractors while still being manageable as a single award. Contractors with healthcare experience in the Twin Cities market should pay close attention to this project as interior buildout ramps up through 2026.

Skills and Certifications Required

This project spans multiple LV disciplines, and the healthcare occupancy raises the bar on certifications and compliance knowledge. Here is what contractors need in their workforce to compete for this scope.

System	Key Certifications	Critical Skills
Fire Alarm	NICET Level II+, State Fire Alarm License, Manufacturer certs (Notifier, EST, or Simplex)	NFPA 72 compliance, SLC/NAC wiring, AHJ coordination, healthcare-specific device placement
Structured Cabling	BICSI INST2, BICSI RCDD (design), Manufacturer certs (Panduit, CommScope)	Cat6A termination, fiber splicing, Fluke testing/certification, rack building, pathway coordination
Access Control	PSP (ASIS), Manufacturer certs (Genetec, Lenel, or HID)	Door hardware, IP networking, credential database management, healthcare zoning
CCTV	Manufacturer certs (Axis, Avigilon, or Milestone), CompTIA Network+	IP camera placement, PoE networking, NVR/VMS configuration, HIPAA-compliant positioning
Nurse Call	Manufacturer certs (Hill-Rom, Rauland, or Jeron)	Healthcare environment protocols, patient room wiring, staff station setup, ADA compliance
Audio/Visual	CTS (AVIXA), CTS-I (Installation), Manufacturer certs (Crestron, QSC)	Display mounting, DSP programming, telehealth room configuration, AV-over-IP networking

Entry-level technicians with BICSI Installer 1 or NICET Level I certifications can contribute to cable pulling, device mounting, and basic terminations across all six systems. Mid-level techs with NICET Level II or BICSI INSTC will handle system wiring, testing, and commissioning. The project will require at least one RCDD for cabling design oversight and a NICET Level III+ professional for fire alarm system engineering and AHJ submittals.

The nurse call system is a specialized skill set that many general LV contractors do not carry in-house. Contractors planning to bid the full scope should either have manufacturer-certified nurse call technicians on staff or plan to subcontract that portion to a healthcare-focused integrator.

Contractors bidding on this project should verify their Minnesota low voltage contractor license is current. Minnesota requires electrical contractors to hold appropriate licensing through the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry for low voltage installations.

Market Signal

The NACC campus is part of a broader wave of healthcare construction in the Twin Cities that shows no signs of slowing. Minneapolis ranked this project among its top construction-value permits for 2025, reflecting the city investment in community health infrastructure. The combination of healthcare and affordable housing in a single mixed-use development represents a growing trend nationally — one that creates outsized LV opportunities because both occupancy types demand robust technology systems.

For LV contractors in the Minneapolis-St. Paul market, this project signals several things. First, healthcare-anchored mixed-use is creating larger, more complex LV scopes than traditional clinic renovations. Second, the involvement of a major GC like Greiner Construction means the bidding process will be structured and competitive — contractors should be prepared with healthcare references and relevant certifications. Third, the project timeline with interior buildout ramping through mid-2026 means the window for subcontractor engagement is now.

The Franklin Avenue corridor has seen steady investment in recent years, and the NACC campus will anchor further development in the neighborhood. Contractors who establish relationships on this project may be well-positioned for follow-on work as the area continues to develop. The Upper Midwest healthcare market remains strong, with hospital systems, community clinics, and senior living facilities all driving steady demand for qualified low voltage professionals.

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