There’s a quiet revolution going on, and it affects how and where we work. Gone are starched, collared shirts and conservative briefcases. No more 8a.m.-5p.m. clock punching. Welcome to the world of collaborative workspaces, a world in which Denver is very much near the epicenter of the latest trends.
Coworking might not be a concept new to you given Denver’s reputation as an innovation hub. And, many may have heard of outfits like Galvanize, a high-profile tech incubator that could be seen to espouse a collaborative, coworking model. But even if you’ve heard of coworking or Galvanize, you might have associated both with RiNo, downtown or Denver’s Tech Center.
Now, the “little town” of South Denver itself is on the coworking map with several providers set to open in coming weeks and months: GRID Collaborative Workspaces at 445 S. Broadway, Alchemy Creative Workspace at 66 S. Logan and a yet-to-be-named workspace at 1040 S. Gaylord offered by Aaron Grant of Elea Development.
The current shake-up in the office space industry began, according to coworking consultant and Creative Density Coworking owner Craig Baute, in 2005. Since that time, what was a bicoastal phenomenon has now spread across the U.S. and into international markets.
“Most of the U.S. is catching up to Denver,” Baute says. But, he adds, even as we are beginning to understand this new workstyle revolution, what is what is not what it currently is. “Coworking originally was creating a clubhouse where friends could come together, a place where people could work by themselves but have an environment where they have fun, collaborate, work together, learn about each other’s projects, provide routine in the day… Not creating networking, but helping each other. By friends coming together, we’re all better, we’re all happier people.”
“Our employees are ecstatic to be leaving the Tech Center, as you can tell. We had the option of moving in here while the space is still under construction, and they have weathered a lot of hammering and sawing and they still are happier here. And we had a kegerator at our old office; that amenity is not new to us.”
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, nearly 15 million workers identified as self-employed in April 2014. While self-employment can mean freedom, it can also mean isolation. Being in a modern, tech-rich space full of amenities such as games, networking events, patios, free beer and an on-site gym can stimulate creativity and productivity. But, it can also prove a bit manic for those used to solitude and privacy.
Still, one advantage that is out front is the tenant chemistry coworking can foster. One provider, GRID Collaborative Workspaces, well-positioned on hip South Broadway in sight of downtown, has chemistry directly in its sights.
“We had our headquarters down in the Tech Center for six years, pretty big building, and I probably knew five people in the entire building,” says Danny Needham, GRID founder. “There were probably 200 people in that building; there was just no place there for them to connect, which is really what this space is all about. There was a survey published recently on coworking that said within a month of joining a new coworking space 70 percent of the people there will know your first name. It’s nice to be able to add 125 new friends through work.”
Maybe you’re not yet buying this whole idea. What, you might ask, is the difference between coworking and executive suites, which have been around at least since the ‘50s?
“Executive suites are stale, uncompromising and lack community,” Needham says.
Needham and his team were so tired of their old Tech Center headquarters’ corporate air that they doubled down on their commitment to the new space by moving their headquarters to the under-construction South Broadway location. They’ll occupy a mezzanine just over the entrance there.
“Our employees are ecstatic to be leaving the Tech Center, as you can tell,” Needham says. “We had the option of moving in here while the space is still under construction, and they have weathered a lot of hammering and sawing and they still are happier here. And we had a kegerator at our old office; that amenity is not new to us.”
Still, just what exactly does one get when they buy into this new way of working? Office space? A desk, a membership and access to amenities?
“Most of what’s appearing on the market is 80 percent offices,” says Baute. “It makes total business sense. I get twice as many requests for offices as I do for coworking memberships. It’s easier for me to sell a $1,000 office than a $175 membership.”
Baute is clear, though: what these new coworking locations are selling is not the executive suite model with a shared administrator up-front handling mail and calls. These spaces still do privilege openness and collaboration, even if they are more office than membership.
The three coworking establishments opening in the near future all claim to have something for everyone, but each will have a little something the other does not, and floorplan speaks to how each plans to position itself.
Though laid out with plenty of office space, GRID is banking more on memberships than Alchemy and Aaron Grant’s development on South Gaylord. The GRID floorplan is open to accommodate more transient users, and the building will be laid out around a central, vaulted space with offices arranged around the perimeter. The space will also feature a convertible conference area capable of handling up to 150 guests.
By comparison, Alchemy’s floorplan features a much smaller collaborative area, as it seems will Grant’s Gaylord space. Both of those locations will be office-forward though they will have features that encourage mingling. At Alchemy, there is an elevated central mezzanine off the second-floor desk area that will be public, and Grant’s space will feature a rooftop patio.
All locations will feature the amenities coworking has come to be known for: gaming areas, stocked kitchens and beer.
As for Alchemy’s angle, Chelsea Strickland, VP of Operations there, says they hope to focus more on work-life balance. “That for us means a yoga studio,” for one, she says. Alchemy’s developers own the space to the north of the coworking location and have leased to Endorphin. She suggests there will be events that encouraging a healthier balance: mindfulness, nutrition. For now, the details are in play.
For Grant, the same desires are there. “You look at those suburban office buildings which are so antiquated… Everybody wants to be near the city, near the core, and they want to work where they live. That live-work concept is real. That’s why neotraditional design in the suburbs in these master plan communities are going for that. But here, Wash Park has had that since the 1800s. [Washington Park] is really the hub, it’s ground zero of strong land planning and land design.”
Grant and Strickland aim to capture neighborhood, walk-up clients. So does Needham, but GRID is also interested in Denver’s commuters who might want to shave time off their drive all the way downtown.
For all three providers, however, this opportunity, this chance to change the way we all live and work, is personal. It’s about having more time to spend with who and what matters. Family, community, friends.
