Configurable fabrication bays and digital tools at the new BLUlabs research and development center in Fridley.
Fridley, Minnesota, August 30, 2025
Mortenson has opened BLUlabs, a 40,000-square-foot research and development center in the Northern Stacks industrial park in Fridley, Minnesota. The configurable facility houses fabrication bays, 3D printers, CAD workstations, CNC machines, a plasma table and trade-specific tools, with on-site engineering and fabrication staff to support prototyping and low-volume manufacturing. The center supports cross-functional teams—including Mortenson’s solar group—aiming to accelerate field-ready innovation. Separately, a crane-mounted sensor provider released a Control Center dashboard with weather-integrated analytics for steel erection, and Buildots announced a three-year enterprise deployment with Juneau Construction for AI-powered visual progress tracking.
In Fridley, Minnesota, a new 40,000-square-foot research and development facility called BLUlabs opened as part of a broader push to test and mature construction tools and processes. Located in the Northern Stacks industrial park, the space was designed and built in-house and features configurable bays and workspaces that support real-world testing, prototyping, and product development. The facility is available to all Mortenson team members and construction project teams, with the aim of turning ideas into tangible tools and practices for the field.
BLUlabs is described as an incubator for ideas that could shape the future of construction. It houses dedicated engineering and fabrication staff who assist with designing, prototyping, and operating equipment, and it is equipped to support a range of activities including low-volume manufacturing. The on-site capabilities include a suite of fabrication tools such as 3D printers, CAD software, CNC machines, a plasma cutting table, and a variety of carpentry, metal, concrete, and electrical tools.
Mortenson has positioned BLUlabs as a continuation of its history of innovation, from early virtual design and construction efforts to more recent advances in fields like electrical integration, precast concrete, and AI-assisted workflows. The company also notes that a dedicated solar team operates within BLUlabs, developing custom tools and software to improve safety and efficiency, particularly on remote, large-scale projects. The intent is to enable cross-functional collaboration and to empower teams to test tools and processes in a controlled environment before broader deployment.
BLUlabs includes spaces and equipment to support prototyping and product development, with a focus on configurable industrial space that adapts to real testing needs. A core goal is to provide space to grow for ideas that can advance the practice of construction. Mortenson emphasizes that the innovation team exists to help project teams develop and scale new products and technologies across its portfolio, while ideas from Mortenson staff are evaluated and tested in real-world conditions before any broad rollout.
Mortenson positions BLUlabs within a long-running arc of innovation spanning decades. The firm has a stated history of adopting new technology and pushing the boundaries of how projects are designed and built, including earlier VDC initiatives highlighted in its public-facing narrative. The BLUlabs program aligns with ongoing efforts to industrialize construction and to apply digital tools to field operations, safety, and productivity.
In July, Versatile updated its crane-mounted sensor and jobsite analytics platform, introducing Control Center, a project dashboard designed specifically for steel erection professionals. The new dashboard consolidates crane activity, sequence progress, and milestone tracking into a single view, giving project managers and field leaders a clearer picture of jobsite performance without chasing updates through spreadsheets or calls. A senior onsite project manager with a steel contractor noted that the tool provides a single place to see current progress, helping crews stay aligned with schedules and reduce delays. The platform also captures crane-mounted device data and aligns it with project plans to deliver clarity to PMs, foremen, and executives.
Control Center has been enhanced with weather integration across its Explore and Calendar views, enabling teams to see how environmental conditions affect lifts and other critical operations. This weather data is updated from project sensors on an hourly cadence, supporting proactive planning and safer scheduling.
Buildots announced a three-year enterprise agreement to deploy its AI-powered platform across the entire portfolio of Juneau Construction Co. The platform automates on-site progress tracking using artificial intelligence and computer vision, delivering up-to-date project data and predictive performance metrics. Juneau has a history of delivering large-scale projects in the residential and student housing sectors, including Hub Knoxville—a major 800,000-square-foot multi-building complex at the University of Tennessee. Executive leadership from Juneau emphasized the value of immediate visibility and predictive insights for organization-wide processes and project delivery.
The article includes several section headings that reflect a broader industry coverage, including Top Lists Top Design Firms, Midwest’s top Design Firms Stay Busy Despite Challenges, Top Contractors, Midwest Contractors Post Strong Growth in Revenue in 2023, Top Specialty Contractors, and Large Projects Spur Growth for Region’s Specialty Contractors. An additional navigation heading appears as How to Participate ENR Videos More Videos. An embedded ilayer reference to an industry API is also noted in the text.
Across these developments, the article frames BLUlabs as part of a broader push to transform construction through innovation and industrialization, with a focus on cross-functional collaboration and the thoughtful deployment of data-driven tools on real projects.
The piece references embedded digital content and site navigation elements, including an ilayer reference to an industry API and a set of navigation sections that guide readers to related topics and videos.
BLUlabs is a 40,000-square-foot research and development space in Fridley, Minnesota, designed to support testing, prototyping, product development, and low-volume manufacturing. It features configurable bays and a range of equipment and is open to Mortenson employees and project teams.
BLUlabs is located in the Northern Stacks industrial park in Fridley, a suburb of Minneapolis.
Control Center is a project dashboard for steel erection teams that aggregates crane activity, sequence progress, and milestones into one view to improve visibility and planning on the jobsite.
Buildots provides an AI-powered platform for on-site progress tracking across Juneau’s portfolio, using computer vision to deliver current project data and predictive performance metrics.
These tools and spaces illustrate a trend toward digitalization and industrialization of construction work, aiming to improve planning, safety, communication, and efficiency on projects of various sizes.
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| BLUlabs size | 40,000 square feet of R&D and prototyping space in Fridley, MN |
| Location | Northern Stacks industrial park, Fridley, Minnesota |
| Purpose | Configurable industrial space for testing, prototyping, product development, and low-volume manufacturing |
| Equipment | 3D printers, CAD software, CNC machines, plasma table, carpentry, metal, concrete, and electrical tools |
| Staffing | Dedicated engineering and fabrication staff to assist with design and operation |
| Related initiatives | Solar team development, virtual design and construction history, and AI tool exploration |
| Versatile Control Center | Project dashboard for crane activity, sequence progress, milestones; includes weather integration |
| Buildots deployment | AI-powered on-site progress tracking across Juneau Construction Co.’s portfolio with predictive metrics |
| Strategic aim | Advance construction innovation and industrialization through cross-functional collaboration and data-driven tools |
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