4 AUSTIN Business JOURNAL
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A collaborative
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Nick Simonite / staff
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New York-based WeWork just made a big splash on the Austin co-working scene with this new downtown space at 600
Congress Ave. It’s projected to serve about 500 members. Desks start at about $400 per month and there is space to host
events and conference-room meetings.
ing facility in far Southwest Austin cost
about $200 per month. Link Co-working,
an upscale facility in North Austin, has a
range of offerings from $300 to $550 for
a dedicated office.
Though WeWork is more expensive,
Shampine pointed out that it’s not just
about having a physical space. WeWork
aims to connect its members with national vendors such as health care and transportation companies to help with the
heavy lifting of operating a business. It
also offers social and educational events.
©
The co-working revolution has taken hold
quickly in less than a decade and Austin
is embracing the new workplace model
with zeal.
San Francisco was ground zero for coworking prototypes, such as Hat Factory
and Citizen Space back in 2006. Thousands of co-working spaces have been
set up around the world providing a creative backdrop for startups, independent
entrepreneurs, consultants and freelancers of every ilk.
Austin — with its innovative culture
— caught on fast. Dozens of co-working
spaces are open and the trend shows no
signs of slowing. The sites try to stand out
from the pack by establishing their own
design spin toward specific industry sectors or providing a neighborhood hub.
The map accompanying this article
shows the location of many of the coworking spaces in the area available to
entrepreneurs, while investors may identify a window of opportunity to create
other co-working spaces in a geographic void.
Still, as more co-working spaces open
and others are just in the planning stages,
it’s become clear that the search for space
has opened up a new real estate niche that
has established itself as far more than a
trend — a veritable business revolution.
This month one of the largest co-working providers in the country — New Yorkbased WeWork — opened in One American Center at 600 Congress Ave. The
tech-savvy co-working developer leased
the entire 14th floor, a little more than
30,000 square feet, of what was once a
rather mundane, 32-story downtown
office tower.
But it’s what’s inside that counts.
“It’s a 100 percent Austin vibe. We’ve
created a very cool office space,” said Matthew Shampine, vice president of business development at WeWork.
WeWork’s model has taken off since
it landed in Soho in New York City in
2010, yielding multiple locations in eight
countries.
“We always knew Austin was on our
road map,” Shampine said. “This is a very
central location. We’ll have a great mix of
demographics, particularly with technology and e-commerce. There are lots of
really smart people in Austin.”
Prices at WeWork range from $400 to
$650 month, according to a spokeswoman
— which is at the higher end of the spectrum as might be expected for the Central Business District location. By comparison, co-working space at Vuku in South
Austin and the new Orange Co-work-
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Austin has seen a dramatic rise in the number of co-working spaces popping
up in the area. Reporter Jan Buchholz examines the trend, and finds out why
the design and location of the spaces has become a hot real estate niche.
Focus moves downtown
More competition in the Downtown
Austin central business district may be
brewing, though.
Chris Skyles of Austin brokerage SkylesBayne Co. said more national players are searching for space to compete
with WeWork in the thriving downtown
market.
That’s where many technology innovators want to plop down their computers,
Skyles said.
As ABJ explored in a cover story last
March, more than 100 high-tech companies call downtown Austin home, rather
than operate in less expensive buildings
on the edge of the city.
Downtown Austin, once an unimaginative landscape of law firms, accounting
companies, banks and government-affiliated businesses, is destination numero
uno — where digital gurus want to contemplate the next great thing while being
in the thick of the urban social scene.
Skyles said the evolution of sophisticated co-working operations has made his
life much easier as a tenant representation broker.
“Before, new tech companies couldn’t
commit to a three-, five- or 10-year lease.
Now we have a place to send them,” Skyles said.
He credits the rather staid Regus Group
Cos. as an industry pioneer, though “coworking” hadn’t been coined at the time.
“Executive suite” was the terminology Regus popularized back in 1989 when
the company was founded in Brussels,
Belgium. Today, Regus offers products
and services aimed at budding entrepreneurs in 2,000 locations in 100 countries,
including about a dozen sites throughout
Austin.
“Regus has been doing this for years,
but they’ve been missing some elements
that appeal to the creatives and collaborators,” Skyles said.
Some of the disconnect is design-related — individual offices that haven’t necessarily facilitated cross-pollination and
synergies among entrepreneurs, as well
as other perks.
Though Regus has been evolving its
model to expand its appeal, a hip generation of co-working originators are ramping up the competition.
Co-working in Austin isn’t just about
high-tech companies, however. Small
independent operators no longer want to
be cooped up in a spare bedroom at home,
isolated from adult interaction throughout the day.
Industry-specific space
Local entrepreneurs and real estate
investors are opening a variety of Austin-area sites to cater to consultants and
freelancers.
One of the first to jump on the bandwagon — in December 2012 — was Brian
Schoenbaum, founder of Vuku in South
Austin.
“I saw opportunity with a warehouse
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Nick Simonite / staff
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Entrepreneur Anita Erickson got fed up with meeting clients at coffee shops only
to take them out to the parking lot to show them samples in her car trunk, so she
is starting Red Chair Workroom. The co-working space will cater to designers,
architects and other decor-minded professionals. It’s under construction at 11100
Metric Boulevard in North Austin near many furniture retailers.
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that was available in my neighborhood,” who said working from home was making
Schoenbaum said.
them stir-crazy,” Erickson said.
He developed Vuku as an event space,
Friends in the business urged her to
which is still part of the model, but now lead the charge for a designer-based coit operates as a co-working space with working space, though she has never had
any experience in real estate.
about 240 members.
Working with real estate broker RhonA prime consideration in vetting members are whether they have a penchant da West of KW Commercial, Erickson
toward community service — regard- leased a flex space in North Austin near
less of the type of
where many venbusiness.
dors such as floor290
“We don’t real“Regus
has been doing this ing and lightly tell people they
ing suppliers are
for years, but they’ve been located.
can’t be here, but
we jointly explore
Re d
Chair
whether this is missing some elements that Workroom will
the right place for
appeal to the creatives and give a nod toward
them to be. It’s
designer sensibilcollaborators.”
ities, including a
kind of self-selecting,” Schoenbaum
large resource and
Chris Skyles,
said.
sample library,
Office broker at SkylesBayne Co.
while the workA visitor walkspaces will faciling into Vuka
itate a designmight expect to
er’s tools of the
find a wedding
trade. There will
curator working
be ample social
next to someone
spaces and smallwho owns a busier, quiet spaces. A
ness digging wells
in Africa. Memcommunity kitchbers come from all
en will serve all
walks of life and
and storage spaces
career spectrums.
also will be available.
Over at the new Red Chair Workroom
Erickson has so far signed up a handunder construction at 11100 Metric Blvd., ful a members — some of whom have even
its co-working members will be interior adopted areas of the Red Chair Workroom
designers, architects and people largely to design and oversee the buildout.
affiliated with the design field.
In addition to the monthly memberAnita Erickson, owner of Red Chair ship fee of $300, members will be able to
Market — a Web-based decor retailer — is access a variety of events such as vendor
creating the space for designers who until showcases and industry awards programs.
now have had few options.
“This is a very specific small commu“I worked from home and I was going nity, but this is what the universe said it
bananas. Then I talked to other designers wanted,” Erickson said.
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Co-working: Taking it to the streets of Austin
Co-working spaces are cropping up in bungalows, high-rises, shopping centers and
industrial spaces. Here’s a look at where entrepreneurs and freelancers are finding offices
and studios where they can build community — and their businesses.
MANCHACA
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1. Tech Ranch, 4030 W. Braker Lane
14. Chicon Collective, 301 Chicon St.
2. Launch Lab Capital LLC, 6805 N. Capital of
15. Perch Coworking, 2235 E. Sixth St.
Texas Highway
16. Opportunity Space, 2125 E. Cesar Chavez St.
3. Link Coworking, 2700 W. Anderson Lane
17. WeWork, 600 Congress Ave.
4. Make+Shift ATX, 8204 N. Lamar Blvd.
18. Capital Factory, 701 Brazos St.
5. ATX Hackerspace Coop, 9701 Dessau Road
19. Industrious, to located somewhere in
6. Vessel Coworking, 500 E. St. Johns Ave.
downtown Austin (Coming soon)
7. Odelay and The Upper East Side, 5811 Berkman
20. Fibercove, 1700 S. Lamar Blvd. (Coming soon)
Drive (Coming soon)
21. Craft, 1628 S. First St.
Vuku, 411 W. Monroe St.
4522.
9. Createscape Coworking, 2108 E.M. Franklin Ave.
23. HubAustin Coworking, 706 W. Ben White Blvd.
8. Patchwork Austin, 4600 Mueller Blvd.
BUDA
11. Center61, 2921 E. 17th St.
10. Space12, 3121 E. 12th St.
12. Owen’s Garage, 1408 E. 13th St.
24. Orange Coworking, 2110 W. Slaughter Lane
25. Red Chair Workroom, 11100 Metric Blvd.
26. Canopy, 916 Springdale Road
13. Soma Vida, 1210 Rosewood Ave.
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Source: Orange Coworking