In 1953, Gerald Rauenhorst founded Rauenhorst Construction Company in Richfield, Minn., a suburb of Minneapolis. From the first days as a general contractor, the company committed to creating great real estate.
As the company evolved over nearly 60 years, the Opus Companies became a leader in commercial real estate development and changed the face of communities across the nation by:
- Building corporate campuses that define organizational culture
- Developing industrial distribution facilities that help companies move products faster
- Designing student housing on college and university campuses that offer students a new place to call home
- Delivering fashion-orientated lifestyle centers that cater to individual shopping needs
Collectively, these companies completed in excess of 2,600 projects totaling 264 million square feet.
1953-1960: The Formative Years
Gerry Rauenhorst started his construction business in 1953 at age 25. For four years he operated from his family's 960-square-foot home in Richfield.
Rauenhorst Construction Company's first project: Zion Lutheran Church in Olivia, Minnesota, Gerry Rauenhorst's hometown.
First headquarters building at 7848 Fremont Avenue South, Bloomington, Minnesota.
St. Ambrose Church in St. Paul, constructed in 1955 and one of many buildings Opus has built for religious institutions.
1961-1970: Cultivating the Opus Approach
First turnkey project: an office and manufacturing facility for The Toro Company.
Members of an early Opus construction crew. Many employees have been with Opus for decades.
An aerial view of Normandale Center Industrial Park in 1961. By 1970, 51 buildings housed more than 400 businesses, including Camelot, a landmark restaurant, and a Howard Johnson's motel.
A new headquarters in 1963 for Rauenhorst Construction at 444 Rauenhorst Circle, Bloomington.
1971-1980: Changing the Twin Cities Landscape
Rauenhorst Corporation created Fabcon, Inc. in 1971 to manufacture hollow-core concrete panels for walls, floors, and ceilings.
A tradition began: Employees received years-of-service awards at the first company picnic in 1972.
Northwestern Financial Center made a dramatic change in the Twin Cities suburban landscape.
The First National Bank of Billings was Montana's tallest building when it went up in 1976.
Gerry Rauenhorst's first promotion: to CEO and Chairman of the Board in 1979.
1981-1990: Expanding to New Markets
Opus completed Southwest Financial Plaza in Phoenix in 1981. Three years later, Opus completed its first office building in Tampa: Westshore Place.
Gerry Rauenhorst unveiled a plaque at the dedication of the Opus Center in suburban Minneapolis in 1982. The same year, Rauenhorst Corporation became Opus Corporation.
Gerry and Henrietta Rauenhorst lit candles in 1983 to celebrate 30 years in business.
Opus buildings at 100 and 150 South Fifth Street changed the downtown Minneapolis skyline in the 1980's.
A new 35-acre corporate campus for the international food company ConAgra revitalized downtown Omaha in the early 1990's.
First Bank Place in downtown Minneapolis was designed by Pei Cobb Freed & Partners and developed by Opus in partnership with IBM.
Opus was chosen by the state of Washington to build a new headquarters for its Department of Labor and Industries.
1991-2000: National Recognition
Opus won a competition to design and build Mariucci Arena at the University of Minnesota.
Gerry Rauenhorst received the National Developer of the year award in 1992 from the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP).
Opus began construction of the California Department of Justice building in Sacramento and celebrated 40 years in business in 1993.
A downtown Minneapolis campus for the University of St. Thomas was completed by Opus in 1993.
Opus rang in 1999 with a new corporate home - Opus Corporate Center - in Minnetonka, Minnesota.
Opus completed a $125 million, one million-square-foot, 30-story office building in downtown Minneapolis for American Express Financial Advisors in 2000.
2001-2005: Celebrating 50 Years
Founder Gerald Rauenhorst was inducted into the Minnesota Business Hall of Fame by Twin Cities Business Monthly in 2001.
In 2003, Opus completed the 1.6-million-square-foot corporate headquarters for Best Buy in Richfield, a Minneapolis suburb.
2003 also marked the 50th anniversary of Opus Corporation, a company started as Rauenhorst Construction Company in 1953 by Gerry Rauenhorst.
The $75 million Shoppes at Arbor Lakes, an upscale lifestyle center, and the first of its kind in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, was completed by Opus.
A 98,000-square-foot headquarters for HOK Sport was completed in 2005, the first new commercial building in decades in Kansas City’s historic River Market district.
Opus broke ground on Allentown Crossings IV, a 290,000-square-foot build-to-suit project for DHL.
2006-2009: Industry Leadership
Opus broke ground on Burr Ridge Village Center in 2006, a 550,000-square-foot lifestyle/mixed-use development in Burr Ridge, Illinois.
Medtronic, Inc. selected Opus as a partner to master plan and develop a 1.5-million-square-foot corporate campus for Medtronic’s Cardiac Rhythm Disease Management (CRDM) unit.
Gerry Rauenhorst received the DBIA Brunelleschi Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007.
Opus achieved a first for Minnesota when its Crescent Ridge Corporate Center I received LEED-EB Gold Certification (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for Existing Buildings) for a multi-tenant building in 2009.
Opus completed its own 148,000-square-foot LEED Gold Certified corporate headquarters addition.
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here to see historical projects of earlier Opus companies.
2010: A New Era
At the end of 2009, Opus Holding, Inc. purchased Opus North Corporation from Opus Corporation, and in 2010 changed its name to Opus Development Corporation. In the spring of 2010, Opus Design Build, L.L.C., a wholly owned subsidiary of Opus Holding, L.L.C., purchased substantially all of the construction assets of Opus Northwest, L.L.C. and Opus Northwest Construction, L.L.C. In the summer of 2010, Opus AE Group, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Opus Holding, Inc., purchased substantially all of the assets of Opus Architects & Engineers, Inc. These companies today comprise The Opus Group.