Life Time set to debut co-working site in St. Louis Park

There aren't any treadmills or weights at Life Time Work, the new St. Louis Park co-working office created by the founder of Life Time, which is known for its athletic clubs.

However, company leaders say the health of members is at the forefront of the office's mission.

When Life Time Work on Wednesday opens a 28,000-square-foot space at the 1600 Tower at West End in St. Louis Park, it will be the first Life Time Work in the Twin Cities and the second in the country.

"Obviously health is a really important part of Life Time Work," said Life Time Work President James O'Reilly, during a tour of the new facility. "I think that the impact we can make by improving somebody's work life is really huge."

When announcing the St. Louis Park location last fall, Life Time founder and Chief Executive Bahram Akradi described Life Time Work as "innovative shared work environments that champion a healthy and fulfilling work life."

Instead of the beer that some co-working competitors offer, Life Time Work has multiple areas where members can fill up on filtered water. Weekly membership events will be on business topics as well as health discussions like the importance of nutrition and movement. An upstairs quiet zone prohibits phone calls. All of the shared co-working spaces and private offices have ergonomic furniture and stand-up desks.

Life Time Work is also closely tied to its Life Time fitness club locations, which are always close by (the St. Louis Park gym is a half mile from the co-working office). Life Time Work members have free access to the fitness clubs.

Last spring, Chanhassen-based Life Time opened its first Life Time Work at its club in Ardmore, Pa., outside Philadelphia. Memberships were sold out before they opened the doors. Another Life Time Work is planned to open in Houston this May.

An Edina location, which will be the largest Life Time Work to date, is scheduled to open in late fall. Life Time is in discussions to also secure a co-working space in downtown Minneapolis, but no details have been announced. Life Time operates a gym at Target Center. It plans to close its Grand Hotel location in May.

While many of the co-working offices that have opened recently have focused on downtown Minneapolis, O'Reilly said there are large opportunities for co-working offices in the suburbs, where members don't have to deal with limited parking and commuting into the city.

He said Life Time Work's members are likely to be more established as opposed to the startups that people often associate with co-working.

The office is designed by the same internal architecture team that works on the fitness clubs. It's meant to be a calming space with moss-green walls and plenty of earthy elements.

"Both Life Time Work and our clubs strive to provide a sophisticated, timeless, and inviting experience for our members," said Julie Yager, senior vice president of architecture and design at Life Time, in an e-mail. "Our spaces are warm and welcoming, not cold and bold!"

In St. Louis Park, about 65 percent of the space has been leased.

In addition to Life Time Work, Life Time has begun to develop Life Time Living apartments as part of some of its athletic resort developments. It has also opened a Life Time Sport pickup soccer arena at the former Vikings practice facility in Eden Prairie.

Nicole Norfleet • 612-673-4495 Twitter: @nicolenorfleet