Page 12 - RE-NJ Aug2020

10 AUGUST 2020
To a growing number of industrial developers and tenants, features such as abundant natural light, walking trails and fitness centers are no longer the exclusive domain of office buildings.
Look no further than 200 Ridge Road in Piscataway, the new home of the Swiss logistics firm Kuehne + Nagel International AG. Built by Rockefeller
“It really opened our eyes,” said Heath Abramsohn, Rockefeller’s vice president and regional director for New Jersey and Pennsylvania. “And from things that we hadn’t done previously to what we’re doing now, it helped us say, ‘You know what? Users want this’ — and it only makes for a better product, so we’ve incorporated some elements of what we did there for a better product in general.”
Market experts note that, even before the pandemic, the race to attract quality labor had led industrial users to focus increasingly on employee wellness. That focus has become all the more important in recent months, as occupiers look to keep employees safe from COVID-19.
Enter the WELL Building Standard, a rating system akin to the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design scale, but one that’s geared toward health and safety. Overseen by the International WELL Building Institute, the certification aims to improve the
performance of buildings, businesses and their people through a set of rigorous standards and ongoing monitoring.
According to the organization, more than 4,200 buildings worldwide have attained WELL certification, precertification or registration, although the
standard is far
more prevalent
in the office
sector. Shalini
Ramesh, a
director with
the institute,
said there are
currently nine
industrial projects worldwide that are WELL-registered and two that are WELL-certified, the first of which was a Prologis distribution center in Tacoma, Washington.
Ramesh and other experts who spoke recently at I.CON, NAIOP’s annual industrial conference, expect quality of life to play a growing role in the design
of warehouse and logistics space.
“I think one of the things that we’re starting to see across the entire industrial sector is a desire to create greater equity between the workforce that these companies have in their corporate office facilities (and) their warehouse and distribution center facilities,” said Nate Maniktala, a principal with the consulting firm BranchPattern. “So how do they make their values congruent to these different workforces?”
Maniktala, whose firm consulted
on the Kuehne + Nagel project in Piscataway, said that discussion is “exacerbated by the fact that investing in healthier spaces has a cost and benefit and workforce development
is a big challenge for all of them.” But people costs are typically higher than energy costs, meaning evaluating the return on investment for wellness initiatives can be more complex than for sustainability.
Regardless, he said, the pandemic has
WELLNESS CENTERS
Health, quality of life a growing focus
in designing warehouse and logistics buildings
By Joshua Burd
Group, the 197,200-square- foot distribution center includes those and other health-conscious design elements, as the tenant makes its
case for a
Shalini Ramesh
Heath Abramsohn
commitment to employee wellness.
The project has been a valuable case study for Rockefeller, which is now embracing the trend with steps such as including clerestory windows into other developments going forward.
Rockefeller Group, which developed a 2.1 million-square-foot industrial park in Piscataway, worked with Kuehne + Nagel International AG to design and build a facility in the complex that emphasizes employee health and safety. The logistics firm occupies nearly 200,000 square feet at 200 Ridge Road, which is designed to achieve gold certification by the International WELL Building Institute and platinum certification on the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design scale.
Courtesy: Rockefeller Group