FARGO — On a recent morning, Tracy Jordre, a principal architect of JLG Architects, took a pair of visitors on a tour of the company’s new offices in the RDO Tower, 225 Broadway N. in downtown Fargo.
The location is not far from JLG’s former offices, which included space the company leased at 214 Broadway.
“We loved that space, it’s a great building. We just outgrew it,” Jordre said while standing in the large, welcoming lounge that ushers visitors into the company’s new offices, which occupy the entire seventh floor of the 18-story RDO Tower.
Employees at JLG Architects work in their new office space Monday, Nov. 24, 2025, at 225 Broadway N. in Fargo.
Alyssa Goelzer / The Forum
The office complex boasts about 9,300 square feet of space and most of the work areas and rooms at JLG receive natural light via large windows.
Nowhere is that more apparent than the commons area that greets new arrivals, which is adjacent to a large, glass-enclosed community/conference room.
One wall of the conference room can be opened to greatly expand the communal space, allowing for gatherings of up to 40 to 50 people.
Clockwise from that area, JLG’s offices wrap around the core of the RDO Tower and extend through four distinct work areas, with each zone intended to accommodate employee work styles based on sound levels of the activities they are involved in.
Tracy Jordre, a principal architect at JLG Architects, led the design and fit-up of the company’s new office space in Fargo along with the firm’s design team of branding, workplace, interior design and sustainability specialists.
Alyssa Goelzer / The Forum
The first work area is meant for louder types of activity, like people talking on phones or in conference calls.
Each work area becomes progressively more quiet until one reaches what might be described as a sanctum sanctorum.
It’s the area of the office complex where people go when they “really need heads-down focus,” according to Jordre.
Sprinkled throughout the four distinct work areas are four “Respite Rooms,” which Jordre described as small, one-person spaces employees can duck into to get away from it all, if only briefly.
The new JLG Architects office offers plenty of space and natural light in addition to stunning views of downtown Fargo.
Alyssa Goelzer / The Forum
“It just allows us to have a little space where we can be off for a moment and then be able to go back to work and do our best,” Jordre said, adding that when JLG was designing its new home optimizing employee well-being was one of the top priorities.
She said that included using building materials that minimize things like off-gassing of unwanted chemicals.
It also led to room accents that include living plants, a design concept that
aims to connect people to nature
within a human-constructed environment.
As part of that focus, Jordre said JLG is working to achieve certifications from industry organizations that promote worker well-being, including the
International WELL Building Institute.
A community/conference room within the new JLG Architects office space in downtown Fargo.
Alyssa Goelzer / The Forum
She said JLG is aiming for the organization’s platinum certification, the highest level of certification WELL Building bestows. If they achieve it, Jordre said they will be the first company in North Dakota to do so.
Jordre said making office spaces appealing places to work is increasingly important at a time when many companies are providing employees
“We have a lot of clients ask us: ‘What is the office of the future?’ ” Jordre said, adding that JLG’s answer to that question is reflected in the design of the company’s new home in Fargo.
“We took the approach here that, the office of the future is just an office that you want to work at. The future of the office is a destination of choice.
“We are competing with other locations where it is easy to stay at home,” Jordre added, stating that the vast majority of JLG staff have indicated they want to be in the office.
“They get more done. They want to be in the office more now with this space. It’s just a better environment,” she added.
JLG began as a company in 1989 in Grand Forks.
As people in the company moved elsewhere, JLG opened additional offices in places like Minneapolis and Alexandria, in Minnesota, Jordre said, adding that JLG established a presence in Fargo in 2005 and opened its first Fargo office in 2008 at 214 Broadway.
A materials sample room at the new JLG Architects offices in Fargo.
Alyssa Goelzer / The Forum
She said the office eventually became so busy that a second Fargo office location opened in 2022 in the nearby Louden building in downtown Fargo.
Staff from both of those offices moved to the RDO Tower this past summer and the combined Fargo office now has about 45 employee-owners.
As a company, JLG has a team of more than 230 spread across nine offices nationwide and, according to Jordre, JLG is still growing.
Jordre said the 360-degree views of downtown Fargo provided by the new offices have the added benefit of showing off what JLG can do.
“It’s fun, because part of our job is instilling inspiration,” she said.
“We can bring our clients in and on almost any window and view look at a project we had some part in,” Jordre added.
Dave Olson is a reporter, photographer and occasional videographer. He graduated from Minnesota State University Moorhead with a degree in mass communications, and during his time at The Forum he has covered many beats, from cops and courts to business and education. Currently is writing business stories, but jumps on daily news as needed. He’s also written about UFOs, ghosts, dinosaur bones and the dwarf planet Pluto. You may reach Dave at 701-241-5555, or by email at dolson@forumcomm.com.