News & Media

At a time when remote work is all the rage, some Louisville employers are investing in their office spaces, ranging from renovations to newly constructed headquarters buildings.

A July survey from The Conference Board found about 71% of companies that are mandating onsite work are reporting difficulties retaining workers, The Playbook Senior Reporter Andy Medici reported in August. That's significantly higher than the 46% rate for companies that give workers a choice between remote, in-person or hybrid setups.

So what are companies doing to get workers back in the office and keep them back? The survey found team building and celebratory events topped the list, followed by flexible hours and workdays, and relaxed casual dress codes.

But a nice-looking and functional workspace can't hurt, either.

Here's a look at some new offices that caught my eye this year:

Moonbase Tango

Davidson chose the name because of the imagery of dancing astronauts. He said it reflects what they do, which is highly technical, but also fun.

As its name would imply, multimedia firm Moonbase Tango opened an out-of-this-world office late last month.

The Logan Street office, previously home to a construction company, has been painted to make visitors feel like they've left earth's atmosphere. It's a 6,000-square-foot space and Moonbase Tango founder Dustin Davidson said the company invested $50,000 in the buildout.

Davidson told Louisville Business First Reporter Eleanor Tolbert he liked the walkability of the Germantown neighborhood, as well as the community-based businesses like Louisville Tool Library and Falls City Community BikeWorks.

Greater Louisville Inc.

Images from our tour of the economic development organization's new 17,000-square-foot office on the 23rd floor of PNC Tower.

Greater Louisville Inc. moved from its longtime headquarters on Main Street to a new space on the 23rd floor of PNC Tower last month.

The 17,000-square-foot office, with views of the Ohio River, has 11 private offices with 40 workstations. The chamber's 30 employees can also utilize the office's work cafe, which can be used for work or team celebrations.

PNC Tower also recently wrapped up a renovation project on its lobby, we reported last week.

Stoll Keenon Ogden

Images from our tour of the law firm's new 41,698-square-foot office space at 400 W. Market St.

SKO recently relocated to 400 W. Market St., just from a few blocks over at 500 W. Jefferson St. The law firm fills the 26th and 27th floors of the tower, which underwent a nearly $4 million renovation.

Schmidt Associates, the architect on the project, surveyed SKO employees to see what was important to them, and many of the themes that came out revolved around equity and inclusion. Mary Garris, an attorney at SKO who was instrumental in the office design, said that’s why all offices are same size, and no individual office has a view of the river. All river view rooms are common spaces.

Along with that, no lawyers have corner offices. Instead, those areas are used for conference rooms, a fitness center, public seating and more.

Eclipse Bank

A look inside the bank's new headquarters, located at 13903 Promenade Green Way in the East End of Louisville

LBF Reporter Stephen P. Schmidt toured Eclipse Bank's new 16,500-square-foot headquarters on Old Henry Road last month.

He said the first thing that caught his eye was a spiral pattern of overhead lights, intentionally designed to complement the bank’s logo. The lights belong to rotunda-shaped conference rooms, which can be found stacked upon each other on all three floors.

There's also a dark blue wall with braille on it from the top to bottom, covered with positive words such as “warmth,” “honesty,” “joy” and “independence.” The wall is in honor of a cousin of Eclipse CEO Andrew Pyles who had a rare disease that caused her to go blind before she passed away.

V-Soft Consulting

 

Images from our tour of the IT services management company's new headquarters located in East Louisville.

V-Soft Consulting completed its new East End headquarters this summer.

The 48,000-square-foot building was designed with corporate collaboration in mind. V-Soft President and Founder Purna Veer said the architect studied the Indian principle of Vastu Shastra, which involves ensuring the building is harmoniously aligned through its layout and the way it’s positioned.

Veer said the building has amenities available to all tenants, including meeting spaces with high-quality audio visual systems, phone booths and individual spaces, and a large conference room that accommodates up to 80 people. It also has an outdoor patio and fitness facility.