The Business Journal is profiling the honorees for the Best Real Estate Projects of the Year Awards. LPAS Headquarters is the honoree in the Adaptive Reuse – Office category.
After more than 20 years in South Natomas, the LPAS Architecture + Design executive team felt it was time to shake things up and move to a new office. As planning for the relocation got underway, Covid-19 happened, which changed everything.
“After the pandemic, we thought long and hard about how we wanted to create a hybrid work environment,” said Brady Smith, LPAS’ president.
LPAS purchased a 100-year-old building originally used by Pacific Gas & Electric Co. The company in 2022 paid $3.2 million for the structure at 723 S St., which had most recently served as an event space and art gallery.
LPAS occupies about 11,700 square feet of the building, which the company modified into an ideal post-pandemic working environment, Smith said.
Design details include an open floor plan with multiple workstations, along with small “huddle spaces” and private pods instead of large conference rooms. With about 50 Sacramento employees, there’s no assigned seating at the office. Instead, principals and designers can set up and collaborate where they please, including in a redesigned basement, where the company also hosts events.
The company requires employees to work in the office three days a week, with Smith stressing that face-to-face interaction is critical to creativity and coaching.
“We created a place where people want to come,” he said. “It’s designed to help people discuss ideas and share knowledge. But it’s also about the neighborhood. We’re one block away from R Street and there’s just a lot more happening here compared to South Natomas.”
Link to article: https://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/news/2024/09/09/2024-best-real-estate-lpas-headquarters.html
