The Mike Mansfield Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse
Built in 1904, the Mike Mansfield Federal Building in Butte, Montana is both an important historic building and a local landmark. It originally served as a post office and courthouse and has housed numerous government offices across 12 decades of service, including acting as one of the country’s largest immigration offices during the heyday of the region’s copper mining industry. The building is now part of the Butte-Anaconda National Historic Landmark District, which highlights the region’s role in the history of industrialization, copper mining, and labor movements in the United States.
Today, the Mike Mansfield Federal building is still in use, and it is slated to receive significant upgrades to increase the building’s resilience against earthquakes and reduce its carbon footprint using innovative geothermal technology. The building will also receive upgraded functional systems, and aesthetic and structural renovations will maintain the iconic Renaissance Revival architecture of the building while improving access for the public.
This design-build project is a great example of interagency and government collaboration, involving coordination between the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), JMT, and the design builder (DB) for the project who will be selected in early 2025. The Department of Energy (DOE’s) Federal Geothermal Partnerships Initiative (FedGeo) team will be providing technical assistance, and stakeholders from the City of Butte, the Silver Bow neighborhood, and Montana Technological University (Montana Tech) will also be active on the project.
The anticipated $30-40 million upgrade project is receiving $24 million in funding through the Inflation Reduction Act, which will go toward the project team’s use of low-embodied carbon materials like glass, steel, and concrete, which produce very few greenhouse gases throughout their lifecycle, as well as new sustainable technologies.
The project was also selected to receive $1.95 million in funding from the Assisting Federal Facilities with Energy Conservation Technologies (AFFECT) grant program, a DOE initiative contributing to the government’s net-zero emissions goals for all Federal buildings. Most of this funding will go toward developing the geothermal heating system for the building; a smaller portion will fund student research on geothermal energy at Montana Tech, which pioneered the geothermal system that the project team is using as a model.
In June 2024, GSA Administrator Robin Carnahan made her first official visit to Butte, Montana to the Mike Mansfield Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse. “Through the Inflation Reduction Act, we’re transforming federal facilities like the Mansfield Courthouse into models of clean energy innovation and catalysts for the domestic manufacturing industries of the future, all while reducing harmful pollution and saving taxpayer money,” said Carnahan.
One of the most significant sustainability upgrades the building will receive is a new geothermal heating system that draws heat from one of the community’s abandoned and flooded copper mines located just 500 feet from the building. The water in the mine remains at 75 degrees Fahrenheit year-round, and the new system will use a series of fluid-filled pipes to transfer heat from the mine water to the building. As the fluid passes through the underwater pipes, it will gain heat from the water, which will then be circulated into the building to maintain the building’s internal temperature. The pumps that power this system will draw electricity from solar panels on the building’s roof, so the system will be completely powered through sustainable energy sources. Through this extensive update plan, the project team aims to achieve LEED Platinum certification, ensuring that the Mike Mansfield Federal building is as sustainable as possible for future generations.
Beyond the energy upgrades, the building will be updated to meet modern earthquake safety codes. The construction team will perform a seismic retrofitting, reinforcing the building’s existing structure with new materials to add resistance to ground shaking and prevent a future collapse.
In addition to the geothermal and seismic retrofit elements of the project, several other renovations will preserve the historic aesthetic of the building while also improving the building’s accessibility and efficiency.
The building’s functional systems, which are designed to be largely invisible to the public, will be replaced. These include the HVAC system, building automation system, and plumbing. The electrical systems will be upgraded to accommodate new technologies.
Other updates will be more visible; the windows and roof will be replaced, and the building’s facade will be restored to retain its historic look. Further, the public lobbies of the building will be renovated, and the building will receive accessibility improvements, as all Federal buildings must, by law, be accessible to people with disabilities.
JMT will serve as the construction manager as advisor (CMa) providing project management and contract administration services on behalf of the GSA throughout the planning, design, construction, and closeout phases of the project. Throughout the project, JMT will act as a coordinator and facilitator between all project partners and ensure that the GSA’s requirements are met across the scope of work, schedule, budget, and quality of the construction.
In the planning phase, JMT will assist the GSA in developing the owner project requirements and construction cost estimates. During the design phase, our team will provide design review, document coordination, and cost evaluation services. In the construction and closeout phase, JMT will provide project management, inspection and quality control services. Throughout the project, JMT will also provide building information modeling (BIM) services that verify the various spaces and systems of the building will appear and work together. Our team will ensure that model updates meet the GSA’s Regional BIM Standard and Common Data Exchange (CDX) and are delivered on time.
JMT will also act as a commissioning agent on the project, developing processes and checks to ensure that the building’s upgraded systems work properly upon completion. JMT’s commissioning agent will work with the DB contractor to evaluate options for new and emerging sustainable technologies to help move the Mike Mansfield FB towards net zero energy use.
Given the scale of the project, the upgrades are anticipated to be completed in late 2028. The design phase of the project will begin in January 2025, and construction is expected to begin in March 2026. Once complete, the upgrades to this historic building will allow it to continue serving the needs of the government and the community of Butte for many years to come.