Developers Bringing Amenities to Industrial Properties
In order to recruit and retain workers, industrial may need amenities similar to offices.
CHICAGO—The humming economy has thinned out the ranks of quality labor at the same time e-commerce has ramped up the need for more workers. These factors have many firms making access to labor one of their most important considerations when decisions get made about locating new facilities.
But others have also decided that changes need to be made to actual facilities. Instead of just four walls and a roof, an increasing number of developers and owners want to make even industrial facilities appealing. That includes features such as outdoor recreation spaces with fire pits and barbecue facilities, the kind of things usually associated with hip, creative office spaces.
“They can definitely use such facilities to recruit and retain employees,” Adam S. Robinson, president of RAF Pacifica Group, tells GlobeSt.com. His Encinitas, CA- based firm now develops “creative industrial” properties that combine office and industrial spaces, along with a suite of amenities. “These buildings allow everyone to be under one roof and be more efficient.”
And that also means that workers on the industrial side also have opportunities to use amenity spaces. ‘This can bring the two groups together,” says Robinson. “And it also gets the employees excited, and the management excited. People can tell right off the bat which buildings are ours, and we’re getting a lot of activity because of that.”
Ultimately, the company wants to reimagine the industrial work environment. One of its newest properties is called vec•tor, a 171,098 square-foot, two-story industrial/R&D facility located in Carlsbad Oaks North corporate business park in Carlsbad, CA, a San Diego suburb. It will feature 30’ clear height ceilings, extensive glass, an outdoor fire pit and more. The property will also offer a glass-centric design to ensure natural lighting for users.
And the firm’s cre•ate, another Carlsbad property, will allow companies to combine headquarters and industrial operations in a 146,108 square-foot single or two-tenant building with a clear height of 30’, as well as cutting-edge amenities. It will also deliver open, collaborative spaces, innovative landscaping, and the latest in tech amenities.
“This is definitely a trend,” Robinson adds. The company now owns about four million square feet of buildings in the San Diego metro area.