9 things you'll find in Principal's renovated offices

When the Principal Financial Group built its headquarters in downtown Des Moines in 1940, the company envisioned an assembly line for processing insurance claims.

Efficiency was the goal. Claims and policies would flow in on one desk and out on another.

Fast forward nearly 75 years, and downtown's largest employer is designing a much different workspace.

Principal is more than a year into a $284 million renovation of its downtown campus. The project will overhaul more than 1.2 million square feet of office space in three buildings, add or replace three skywalk bridges, and upgrade the exterior of the buildings to create more of a campus atmosphere.

In place of the cube farms built for processing paperwork, the company plans to add more collaborative space where employees can meet with laptops or teleconference with colleagues halfway around the world. Of Principal's roughly 14,800 employees, more than 5,000 work outside the United States.

"None of us are tethered to our station the way we once were," said Ralph Eucher, Principal's executive vice president for human resources and corporate services. "You could work anywhere on campus today."

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Earlier this week, Eucher led The Register on a tour of Principal's office at 750 Park St. Half of the Z-shaped building has been renovated, and the other half is scheduled to be complete next spring. The architect for the project is Des Moines-based OPN Architects.

Here are some things you'll find in Principal's new office:

Large flat-panel monitors. They're all over the place, fitted with cameras for video conference calls. Eucher said Principal wanted to include more collaborate space so, say, a team of IT employees could talk to another IT group in London or New York and see them while handing off a project.

Bench seating. That's the company's term for the coves of desks that have replaced more traditional cubicles in some areas. Employees are assigned to coves and given lots of space for collaborations.

Stand-up desks. The company fitted many work stations with adjustable desks. After lunch some days, Eucher said, you'll see as many as half the employees working on their feet.

Outlets everywhere. Nearly every new piece of furniture the company ordered has electrical outlets, Eucher said. There was a wheel of outlets in the center of the small table in the building's art gallery where we spoke. The goal is to allow employees to set up their workstation wherever they can be most productive.

A cafeteria app (that's coming soon). Eucher said Principal is working on an app that will allow employees to order and pay for lunch from their phone so they can just go to the cafeteria and pick it up.

Employees crossing above Eighth Street. A new skywalk bridge between 750 Park St. and the 11-story office tower at 655 Ninth St. opened in June. Company officials said it cuts eight minutes off the commute time between the buildings.

Bold colors. Bright lighting and bold colors fill the new office. The carpet includes several different designs, some with a pattern of lines and dashes that looks digital, like something out of the movie "Tron." Brightly colored cloth panels hang from the ceiling in a break room to serve as sound barriers.

New space for lease at 801 Grand. Principal, which owns the 45-story tower and leases the top third, is renovating the middle third of the building to lease to other office tenants. The company will maintain offices in the lower third of the building.

A blue outline. In addition to its new Eighth Street skywalk, Principal is rebuilding two skywalk bridges and renovating another. The skywalks, which are not open to the public, will be lit with blue lights visible from the outside. It's the same shade the company uses in its logo and will help distinguish the area as Principal's campus, Eucher said.

"It will frame the campus in the evening in blue light," he said. "When you fly over at night, I'll guarantee you'll know where we are."

Principal Campus renovation, by the numbers

$284 million: Estimated project cost.

1,211,964: Square feet of office space to be renovated.

6,300: Number of downtown employees.

75: Percent decrease expected in electrical usage after switch to all LED bulbs.

13: Number of floors renovated in 801 Grand.

8: Minutes cut from the commute between two buildings thanks to new skywalk bridge.

4: Number of skywalk bridges added or rebuilt.

Downtown's most expensive recent project

With a price tag of $284 million — $238.5 million excluding furnishings — the Principal Financial Group's campus renovation is downtown's most expensive recent project.

In all, the project will overhaul more than 1.2 million square feet of office space in three buildings: 750 Park St., the Z-shaped building; 711 High St., the corporate headquarters; and 801 Grand. It's expected to be complete in late 2017.

By comparison, Kum & Go's new downtown headquarters is expected to cost $92 million. And a new six-story apartment, hotel and parking garage complex covering an entire city block is expected to cost about $50 million.

Principal's project is easy for the public to overlook, because the work is largely inside, said Erin Olson-Douglas, an economic development coordinator with the city. But the renovation has been a catalyst for other developments downtown.

"Principal is a leader in our corporate community, and the fact that they want to spend more than $200 million is a good signal to everyone who is thinking about investing in downtown and our region," she said.

As part of Principal's investment, the city has agreed to overhaul the streetscape on Keosauqua Way and time the reconstruction of a nearby parking ramp to coincide with the campus overhaul.

The largest employer downtown, Principal has about 6,300 workers at its campus. All employees in the renovated buildings will have to move during the project, some twice, company officials said.

Second phase possible

A second phase could include the renovation of an 11-story office building at 655 Ninth St. and a three-story building at 575 Seventh St., said Ralph Eucher, Principal's executive vice president for human resources and corporate services

The company is currently adding employees, but that is not tied directly to the campus renovation.

"But I will tell you," Eucher said, "had we not made the investment, I don't think we would have had the ability to attract the talent we need to grow. And we are steadily growing."

— Joel Aschbrenner

Principal campus renovation timeline

750 Park St.: June 2013 to June 2015.

801 Grand: January 2014 to January 2016.

711 High St.: Spring 2015 to fall 2017.

Eighth Street skywalk bridge: August 2013 to June 2014.

Changing workforce

Principal's renovation is being driven by its changing workforce.

Decades ago, most of the company's employees were involved in processing transactions. By 2001, 55 percent of the workforce was what the company calls knowledge-based employees, which includes lawyers, actuaries, IT workers and asset managers, the type of employees that benefit from more collaborate and mobile workspace.

Today, about 70 percent of Principal's employees worldwide are knowledge workers.

"Those jobs, those teams work differently than when we were processing transactions for most of our business," said Ralph Eucher, Principal's executive vice president for human resources and corporate services. "Today, most of that processing is done by electronics."

Principal is not alone. Employers around the city and nationwide are moving toward more open and collaborative office designs that allow smartphone- and laptop-carrying employees to set up their workstation where they choose.

"By and large, we're hearing people say it's working much better for them," Eucher said. "Frankly, I think it's going to be something that will give us a competitive advantage."

— Joel Aschbrenner