Charlotte-based LPL Financial Holdings opened a sleek, sustainable campus in Fort Mill, S.C., on Wednesday.
LPL’s Carolinas campus is a gigantic 450,000-square-foot office complex designed to minimize impacts on the environment and to fit into its surroundings, which include the 2,100-acre Anne Springs Close Greenway nature preserve, according to the company.
“Our new offices reflect LPL’s commitment to employee well-being, our communities and our environment,” said Mark Casady, LPL Financial chairman and CEO, in a released statement. “We created a state-of-the-art workspace that could enable employees to be innovative and collaborative, that would support wellness and would enable them to bring their whole selves to work each day. We believe this campus creates tremendous pride for our employees and will further enable them to deliver superior service to our clients.”
The new campus is tracking for LEED Gold certification, a stringent building sustainability standard.
The campus incorporates net-zero water design, abundant natural daylight and an efficient HVAC system and encourages walking and the use of stairs to reduce on-site consumption of energy and other resources, according to the company.
LPL incorporated more subtle environmentally friendly elements, like design and construction strategies that saved as many of the site’s existing trees as possible. Hardwoods reclaimed from the site were used in the campus’s construction. In addition to bicycle storage and a bicycle share system, the campus’s parking structure includes 12 electric vehicle-charging stations and 100 preferred parking spaces for fuel-efficient vehicles.
The 3,000 employees who will staff the new Carolinas campus will enjoy sit-to-stand work stations, a fitness center, a health clinic, a cafeteria, two miles of walking trails, a community garden, outdoor sports courts, a game room and a waterfront plaza.
The Carolinas campus is not LPL’s first foray into green design and construction—the company’s San Diego location is LEED Platinum certified, the most stringent standard for sustainable building design in the U.S., and is believed to be the largest net-zero energy commercial office building in the country.
With $495 billion in brokerage and advisory assets as of October 31, LPL is the nation’s largest independent broker-dealer based on total revenues and a large RIA custodian.