Leveraging our expertise to accommodate growth for JLL Minneapolis’ new office

As commercial real estate experts, our job at JLL is to help companies find workplaces to suit their needs as we make a complex process more efficient and less risky. We approached the strategy, design, and build for our new office space at RBC Gateway like we would for any client. By investing the time and effort to learn more about ourselves, how we work and define the purpose of our office, we set out to create a space that embodied our people, product and Minneapolis team culture.

The challenge

Our team had significantly outgrown our previous office. When the first JLL Minneapolis office opened in 1995, we had three employees. Since then, we’ve added several business lines and have seen significant revenue growth in our market. It was only fitting that our new space reflected our growth, values and global brand footprint in the market.

It was obvious we needed more collaboration areas for working like huddle and conference rooms, but also a larger place to socialize with one another — like a hub café. It was also important for our new space to promote our culture, facilitate collaboration, and incorporate ample natural light and greenery. In addition to more square footage, these features were necessary to accommodate our growth and establish the space as a commute-worthy destination.

The space

Our 21,000-square-foot office is home to seven business lines and almost 80 employees. Through leadership assessments, employee surveys and evaluating long-term business goals, we crafted a strategy that enhanced our employee experience. Our “must-haves” for our new space included individual workstations, offices for individual work, conference and huddle rooms for collaboration and a hub with a café to promote socialization.

The new space features:

• Four meeting rooms
• Five huddle rooms
• Three phone rooms
• A hub café
• A library table near the hub
• 25 personal offices
• A mother’s/wellness room

All aspects of the design and layout were taken into account with information from our space committee, led by our project manager and architecture and design partner. The space committee was made up of a member from each business line of various seniority levels. It was important for us to ensure that each team member and business line felt that they had a voice and were involved in making decisions about our new space.

Among the new office’s dedicated heads down workstations and collaboration spaces, it also incorporates an abundance of natural light through the space with floor-to-ceiling windows around the perimeter of the office. With benches along several areas of the space, employees and guests can enjoy the city and river views.

With modern finishes and branding that incorporates JLL’s values and Minneapolis’ local flair, the new space establishes a welcoming atmosphere for employees and clients alike.

The results

The JLL Minneapolis team now has a stunning new office to call home.

“I can’t imagine a better space for our JLL Minneapolis office,” said Market Lead Brent Robertson. “It embodies our culture, which has been the key to our growth in the market. Having this new space allows us to better support and collaborate with one another, leading to even more cohesive offerings for our clients, and an unmatched work experience for our teams.”

We’ve had an overwhelmingly positive response from our team who reports to the local office. Favorite features include the 10” floor to ceiling windows with expansive views, the large hub and kitchen area for mingling and entertaining, and strategically being on the same floor as RBC Gateway’s state-of-the-art fitness center.

Cross-collaborating over different departments and business lines helped us create a space that our JLL Minneapolis employees are proud to call home. With help from our space committee to amplify opinions and voices from all parts of the office, our team worked together as OneJLL to make our new Minneapolis office a place where our employees want to come to work every day.