Sep 27, 2020 - Things to Do

Is Wray Ward’s new office the coolest in Charlotte? Go inside

Ted Williams

Coronavirus measures: Wray Ward employees return to the office this week with an A/B schedule, which means about 50 people a day will be spread out over the 39,000 square feet space. “We will have a nurse on staff to check temperatures and pulse-oxygen levels upon entry to the building; masks, of course, are mandatory; and we have hand sanitizing and cleaning supply stations throughout the space,” says Appleby. There’s safety signage posted throughout the office and they’ve closed the kitchen, coffee areas, ping pong room, and foosball table for now. “Our employees have varying needs, from parents of young children who need help doing their school day online to young professionals who are itching to get back to the office, and we are being flexible to make sure everyone has what they need, not just for work comfort, but for work-life needs.”

Wray Ward may now have the coolest office in Charlotte. This week, the 107-person advertising agency moves into their new 39,000 square foot home near Noble Smoke, Summit Seltzer, and Lulu’s in Charlotte’s Wesley Heights neighborhood.

Jennifer Appleby, president and chief creative officer of Wray Ward, referred to the office as “badass” while giving me a tour — and she’s right. The adaptive re-use office project blends a renovated 1950s industrial structure with a new two-story attached building. It’ll give any visitor a serious case of office envy.

Layout: Wray Ward’s new office has 13 conference rooms, two outdoor spaces, a studio, and 39 offices. “Our people love to grab their laptops and go find a fresh perspective or quiet corner,” says Appleby. There are sofas, cubbies, and nooks all over the place as well as a 1,600 square-foot rooftop deck, game room with ping pong and foosball, and a 3,000 square-foot in-house studio with oversized garage doors that can be opened for fresh air.

Favorite spaces: “I think our people will gravitate toward the Town Hall, kitchen, and rooftop deck with wide open views of the skyline,” says Appleby.

Town Hall: Right when you enter the lobby, there’s the Town Hall space with stadium seating for over 100 people that Wray Ward will use for staff meetings and other events post-pandemic. It’s striking and reminds me of Coco and the Director in Uptown, but much larger.

“One thing we’d like to do once we get settled is to open our space to the local organizations and nonprofits to really be a resource for our community,” says Appleby. “Whether it be opening up our studio space for photographers in need of resources or our Town Hall space for meetings and gatherings, we look forward to welcoming the community into our space when the time comes.”

Details: The architect on the project was Brooks Runkle and his team at Redline Design Group, the general contractor was Edifice, the developer was LPA Urban, and Wray Ward worked with commercial real estate broker John Christenbury and Cushman Wakefield to find a space they could customize.

Client product: Wray Ward is a full-service agency with a focus on on the home and building categories. They used client product in their new office, including flooring and wall tile from Floor & Decor; window treatments from Hunter Douglas, faucets from Moen; paint from Sherwin Williams; glass wall systems from CR Laurence, skylights from VELUX, and air purification from Global Plasma Solutions.

Other contenders: Wray Ward joins Red Ventures’ massive campus in Indian Land, Duke Energy’s Innovation Center at Optimist Hall, and Passport’s new(ish) Uptown office as contenders for the coolest office space in Charlotte.