Downtown Commons in Minneapolis Features 22,000 Square Feet of Porous Pave Permeable Pavement

GRANT, Mich. & MINNEAPOLIS - Sept. 27, 2016 - PRLog -- Porous Pave, Inc. announced that its permeable paving material was selected for the Downtown Commons in Minneapolis, Minn. Completed in August 2016, the Commons is a 4.2-acre public park and green space adjacent to U.S. Bank Stadium, the new home of the NFL's Minnesota Vikings. The Commons includes seven areas of Porous Pave XL permeable pavement totaling 19,000 square feet and 120 permeable tree surrounds created using 3,000 square feet of Porous Pave XLS.

An eco-friendly green building material made in the U.S.A., Porous Pave is a highly porous, durable and flexible pour-in-place paving material. Stormwater drains through its permeable surface at a tested rate of 5,800 - 6,300 gallons of stormwater per hour per square foot for on-site stormwater retention. The XL formulation is made from 50 percent recycled rubber chips and 50 percent chipped granite aggregate with a moisture-cured, liquid binder. XLS is 100 percent recycled rubber chips.

"The Commons is the centerpiece of the revitalization and redevelopment of the Downtown East neighborhood," said Jacob Frey, Minneapolis City Council member whose Ward 3 includes the Commons. "The reduction in harmful stormwater runoff and water pollution is one of its many environmental benefits for the entire city."

"As is typical for highly urbanized areas, much of downtown Minneapolis is impervious. The Great Lawn, a large oval grass field, is a prominent element of the Commons, designed for deep infiltration of stormwater," said Mary Lydecker, RLA, LEED AP BD+C, senior associate, Hargreaves Associates (San Francisco, Calif.), the landscape architecture firm that led the project. "Additionally, extensive native and adapted tree and groundcover plantings, as well as various permeable surfacing materials, including Porous Pave, make the Commons very effective at decreasing surface stormwater runoff."

Porous Pave was selected for its permeability, usability and versatility, and ease of maintenance," said Ryan Potvin, operations manager, Peterson Companies (Chisago City, Minn.), the project's landscape contractor. "With its rubber content, it is safe and suitable for foot traffic and wheelchairs, comfortable to stand on and slip-resistant when wet."

Blackstone Contractors, LLC (Corcoran, Minn.), the installation contractor, poured Porous Pave XL with fine-cut, 1/8-1/4 inch, tan color rubber chips at a depth of two inches atop a two-inch aggregate base for the paved permeable areas. They applied two inches of XLS with special size three-quarter inch rubber chips in the cypress color for the tree surrounds.

The controlled shredding and processing of discarded tires produces the chips of recycled rubber incorporated into Porous Pave. The Commons' installation includes rubber recovered from approximately 5,000 scrap tires.

"The Downtown Commons in Minneapolis is one of our largest projects to date in the Upper Midwest," said Dave Ouwinga, president, Porous Pave, Inc. "It helped us reach an important environmental milestone. This year we surpassed a total 7.5 million pounds of recycled rubber used in manufacturing our permeable paving material."

About Porous Pave

Porous Pave, Inc. (Grant, Mich.) manufactures Porous Pave, a highly porous, durable and flexible surfacing material consisting of recycled rubber, aggregate and a liquid binding agent. With up to 6,300 gallons per hour per square foot permeability, Porous Pave is a superior solution for stormwater retention. It is resilient and slip resistant. A pour in place material, Porous Pave conforms to any landscape design and installs on grades up to 30 degrees. Porous Pave is easy to install. Using a standard mortar mixer, mixing time is under a minute. Curing time is only 24 hours. For technical specifications, independent lab test results and distributor locations, visit www.porouspaveinc.com. Keep up with Porous Pave on LinkedIn.

Porous Pave at Greenbuild

Porous Pave, Inc. will exhibit at Greenbuild, the world's largest international green building conference and expo, on October 5-6, 2016. The Greenbuild conference and expo will be held at the Los Angeles Convention Center, Los Angeles, Calif. Porous Pave will be located at booth #921.