Pool tables, rooms to play card games, a rock climbing wall, free milk shakes and bean-bag chairs are just some of the amenities for employees to enjoy at one of Kirkland’s newest and biggest businesses. And no, this is not the Wonka factory.

The three-building Google campus, which celebrated its grand opening Wednesday morning in Kirkland’s Everest neighborhood, boasts all of these amenities and much more for its 350 employees.

“There is a lot of innovation that comes at the water cooler and in the hallways,” said Google Senior Vice President of Engineering and Research Alan Eustace. “There is energy in having people together.”

Google has had a footprint in Kirkland since 2004, when it opened an office of two people at Carillon Point. During the next two years Google expanded to two more offices in Kirkland. But eventually the company needed to consolidate under one roof.

“Consolidating is great for collaboration,” said Google engineer Amanda Camp. “I feel incredibly lucky to work for a company that actually cares about me.”

The facility screams out leisure but the production of Google during the past decade has been undeniable.

And the new work place may be the envy of every other employee in Kirkland.

The facility boasts a full gym with personal trainers, yoga room, massage room, cafeteria, an on-site doctor, micro kitchens and game rooms. In a main conference room the carpet flooring is actually a game created by one of the employees.

The buildings are designed to reduce its impact on the environment. Large team offices utilize natural light with motion sensors on all lighting fixtures and high efficiency water fixtures in every bathroom.

“They prioritized the natural light for groups,” said Camp. “It is so that it can be enjoyed by more people.”

The complex was also built with almost 90 percent of the construction waste recycled and all the furniture is reused or made from recycled materials.

The campus also has priority parking for carpools and electric vehicles with recharging stations.

“This is a deep investment and it came from a small conversation,” said Silver. “We started in 2007 and then 2008 (the recession) hit. It gave us time to fine tune the building.”

Kirkland Mayor Jim Lauinger noticed on his way to the event that the building is not the only way Google is helping the environment.

“Nobody picks up their phone book any more,” said Lauinger, noting that less of them will end up in landfills. “Thank you for making those damn phone books go away.”

The Mayor explained that having Google in Kirkland is good for the city because it brings high paying jobs and people that he hopes will “invest in Kirkland,” by living in Kirkland. The result will also be less need for commuting, which he said is another way that he hopes Google will impact the environment.

Lauinger gave a lot of credit to developer Andy Loos for getting the project off the ground.

“This was a derelict property and he wanted to build houses here,” said Lauinger. The property is located at 747 Sixth Street South. “But we are desperate to keep all of our commercial property in Kirkland. So we told him he had to develop it with the current zoning.”

That plan turned into one of Kirkland’s largest business sites.

And while the company employs more than 20,000 workers world wide, Google engineer Carl Hamilton insists that the new Kirkland campus is no less important than the company’s Mountain View, Calif. headquarters.

“We are not a satellite,” said Hamilton, whose company’s name is actually a play on words from the number googol, which is 10 with 100 zeros.

Being in Kirkland helps Google in other ways. Being in the Western time-zone helps with collaboration with the six other offices on the West Coast. But the only other US Google facility with a rock climbing wall is in Boulder, Colo.

“We care about collaboration and the climbing wall helps with that,” said Silver.

And while the Wonka factory may be a mythical place, Google may be the next best thing.