L.L. Bean completes sprawling new $110 million headquarters in Freeport

Indoor/outdoor space inside L.L. Bean headquarters. Courtesy of L.L. Bean

L.L. Bean’s new Maine headquarters is complete after a $110 million remodel.

The company says the sprawling 390,000-square-foot campus promotes connectivity with nature, sustainability, and overall well-being and productivity for workers.

The building features expansive windows, natural light, indoor and outdoor meeting spaces, tree houses, fireplaces, public trails and a 10,000-square-foot open courtyard, according to a news release. The interior of the building is decorated with artwork that commemorates the company’s 110-year-long history, including quotes from its founder, Leon Leonwood Bean.

“As an outdoor brand whose purpose is all about helping people to get outside, we thought it was only fitting to have a headquarters that brings the outside in for our employees,” said Shawn Gorman, L.L. Bean executive chairman. “From the beginning, this project was about honoring L.L.’s love of the outdoors with a modern, energy-efficient and light-filled space. I think he’d be proud to see how that legacy has inspired our beautiful new workplace.”

EMPLOYEE PERKS

• Workers have an on-site coffee shop and a self-serve cafeteria. Those wishing to make something themselves can use one of five kitchens.

• Other spaces available to workers include 14 quiet rooms, five mothers’ rooms, multi-stall and gender-neutral single-stall restrooms, private workspaces, soundproof phone booths and huddle rooms.

• All employees have dynamic workstations with ergonomic chairs, desks and monitor setups.

The L.L. Bean employee fitness center. Courtesy of L.L. Bean

• The campus also houses a health clinic offering free preventative health services, injury treatment and short-term confidential counseling.

• Employees, spouses and retired L.L. Bean employees will also have access to a fitness center with fully equipped locker rooms.

L.L. Bean also added a product-testing lab featuring a rain room and a production studio to photograph products and models for their catalogs.

The company designed the new building with climate change in mind and reused materials from the previous structure. The company said this move saved over 1,000 tons of embedded carbon dioxide — equivalent to removing 200 cars from the road.

SUSTAINABILITY

• The new building runs on 80% renewable energy generated by solar installations.

• All windows are equipped with blinds programmed to allow 3 feet of sunlight into the building at all times to prevent heat loss.

• Keeping wildlife in mind, L.L. Bean has placed bird deterrent decals on all windows. Landscapers also added native pollinator plants across the campus to help sustain Maine’s bee population.

• There are electric-vehicle charging stations and outside air systems to recover over 60% of the energy from exhaust air streams.

• The building has water-to-air-to-heat pumps for heating and cooling.

• All stormwater run-off is treated before it leaves the grounds.

• Conserving water is a top priority for the company, with low-flow toilets and use of a closed water loop for the rain room testing lab.

Maine-based contractors were used for much the work, officials said, adding that the general public will also be able to benefit from the new campus by taking advantage of public hiking trails and the building’s 900-seat conference and events center.

“We’ve created an entire L.L. Bean ecosystem where we can feel the power of the outdoors in our day-to-day work and every square inch of space,” said Katie Wise, L.L. Bean senior manager of design and planning. “We want employees to feel proud of our new offices, to enjoy their time here and to encounter nature as much as possible. After all, it’s why we exist.”

The headquarters remodel, which will be officially unveiled in a grand opening Thursday, is just the tip of the iceberg for L.L. Bean. Over the next few years, the company is chipping away at a $50 million project called The Freeport Experience – an overhaul of its retail campus in downtown Freeport.