CREJ - Office Properties Quarterly - December 2016
In just a few short years, the coworking community in Denver has developed into one of the nation’s most robust. There are co-working spaces seemingly around every corner with more popping up every day. When Thrive first opened its doors in 2010, the concept of co-working was rather different than the one seen today. While the concept of co-working remains communal at its core, coworking has developed to meet the growing needs of Colorado’s co-workers. At first, traditional coworking centered on people; today, co-working centers on community. Increasingly, the city’s co-working ecosystem is concerned about location, flexibility and community when selecting a shared workspace environment. • Location. Location is crucial. We have witnessed that a co-working space’s location has a sizable impact on the health of the community and affects where people actually want to get their work accomplished. A shared workspace’s location needs to be accessible to where community members live, needs to have the right vibe and needs to supply access to eateries, bars and entertainment options. While working from home can have its benefits – specifically, freedom and privacy – missing out on some of the most crucial psychological aspects of productivity poses a significant disadvantage. There are far more perks being offered by shared workspaces today than ever before. Cultivating a warm, motivating and productive atmosphere is crucial in meeting the needs of the modern co-working community. A co-working space with easy access to parking, public transportation and nearby restaurants, bars and other cultural offerings provides members with additional flexibility. Access and location play a sizable role in meeting the growing needs of the developing co-working community in Denver. • Flexibility. Flexibility is a necessity for co-working spaces. Every co-working space has a different atmosphere, and the concept of coworking remains relatively unknown to a large percentage of the population. Often, people don’t know what they want in a co-working space, so we offer the flexibility for them to grow through memberships or physical space. We have seen people take months switching from package to package before they know what option works best for them. And then once they’re feeling comfortable, something happens – an employee moves on, they’re forced to hire additional employees, sales don’t go as well as planned or their company is acquired – and they are right back at square one, trying to figure out what works best again. Offering flexible membership options and not being afraid to alter packages based on the needs of members benefits everyone in the co-working community. For example, walls and spaces can be designed to be modular for reconfiguration, expansion and contraction. We have a coffee shop area that can be changed into offices over the weekend and vice versa. A co-working space should offer customizable packages that meet the needs of each business and supply a “work where you want” mentality. Even if members have private office space, ensure that they love to use the mobile workspace as well as offering a variety of conference room sizes and configurations. The ability to adapt to members’ needs is crucial in the development of a co-working community. Whatever a co-working space can do to be flexible for its members will be beneficial in fostering a friendly, familial community. • Community. Community is one of the most important values of coworking and it remains one of the hardest things to cultivate, because there are so many attributes that can impact the entire community. The location, feel of the space, other members, membership services and networking opportunities are all examples of the elements that make up the unique communities at each co-working space. We feel that you have to adapt to the surrounding neighborhood and members to cultivate a successfully community. Community is perhaps the most misunderstood value, as many co-working spaces have differing views on what formulates a great community. Additionally, it’s important to create a support system for your community through educational opportunities, partnerships and access to beneficial tools. For example, we recently partnered with the Founder Institute, a business incubator, entrepreneur training and startup launch program, and we partner with Rockies Venture Club and Venture Zone to offer entrepreneurs resources for funding, networking and collaboration. In the end, the shift away from individuals and toward community has changed the concept of co-working in Denver. In order to meet the growing needs of this burgeoning community, co-working space managers and owners need to look toward ideal locations, formulate flexible workspaces and cultivate a supportive community to allow for a co-working space and its members to thrive and succeed.