The Opus Group, Minnetonka, Minn., completed a ready-cut food processing facility for Fresh Express.

Located on nearly 30 acres in Streamwood, Ill., Opus renovated an existing structure and constructed building additions to create the 335,000-square-foot, LEED Silver-certified facility that was completed in 2013. This site will be used for food processing, cold storage warehousing and office space and features multiple food processing lines and raw and finished product cold storage.

“We’re extremely proud to have met our goal of achieving LEED Silver certification for Fresh Express’ food manufacturing facility, and to have delivered a building that will help reduce the environmental impact of operations,” says Jim Caesar, regional vice president, Opus. “This project was a perfect fit for Opus’ design-build delivery process, as it required a great deal of technical expertise and collaboration to deliver the high-quality new facility on a tight timeline.”

The building boasts water use reduction and optimized energy performance in addition to its re-use of existing building materials and innovative design points. The new facility also allows Fresh Express to consolidate various other Chicagoland operations into one location, providing operational efficiencies and room for future growth.