Ethan Schwanke considers himself a coffee connoisseur, and he was impressed when his employer started to provide Kona coffee shipped straight from Hawaii.
He enjoys it on breaks off the workshop floor.
"It just helps spice up the day a little bit," says Schwanke, a production engineer at Star Exhibits in Brooklyn Park.
Premium coffee, craft beer, tricked-out kitchens, sun-filled workspaces and decked-out patios are no longer perks just for people working in hip and wannabe-hip offices. More and more industrial firms in the Twin Cities are providing them as they build or remodel production facilities and warehouses.
Factories have always provided break areas and sometimes outdoor recreation spaces for workers. But now, industrial firms are pressing real estate developers to do even more.
One local developer is looking to attract a brewery into a redeveloped industrial site, in part to give workers at other firms on the site a place to hang out. "It's not just your office workers who enjoy natural light and open space," said Dan Larew, an industrial broker for the Minneapolis office of commercial real estate services company JLL. As with office-oriented employers, much of the push for amenities at more industrial sites can be tied to the tightening labor market. Companies have to aggressively compete for talent, and the modern features of their facilities are being used as recruiting tools.
Phil Cattanach, director of real estate development for Opus Development Co., said flexible work spaces, air quality and sunlight all make a difference in the office. "Take a lot of those same kind of themes and only transfer them to the industrial world," he said.
Hudson Brothen, an industrial broker for Cushman & Wakefield NorthMarq, said the perks to industrial buildings can add some costs in the beginning.