In Focus: Co-Working Spaces Shaping a New Generation of Emerging Urban Landscapes
Q4 2015
Where co-working spaces exist, a creative class is emerging — individuals who share an appetite for places, spaces, and resources that meet their unique personal and professional preferences. These communal hubs are creating an entrepreneurial “ecosystem” that is part of a milieu where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. The effect these co-working environments have in shaping the surrounding urban landscape is particularly interesting. Where co-working spaces exist, a creative class is emerging — individuals who share an appetite for places, spaces, and resources that meet their unique personal and professional preferences. These communal hubs are creating an entrepreneurial “ecosystem” that is part of a milieu where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. And those parts are a mix of local retail boutiques, pop-ups, chef-driven restaurant concepts, micro-apartments, and trendy national retailers. Creative, socially-driven and entrepreneurial-minded people that work and dwell in these urban populations value diverse and different dining options and entertainment, along with coffee shops and communal areas that support social engagement. Such urban ecosystems exist in major cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Austin, and Dallas. Other areas booming with development of alternative working spaces include Denver’s Union Station/LoDo/RiNo area, Chicago’s West Loop and Hyde Park, and Boston’s downtown area around Prudential Center Plaza.
A player that recognized the strength in developing hot office markets early on is New York-based We Work. The co-working startup has 47 locations in 16 cities and is making its way into London and Israel. And the co-working trend has even started to impact large companies such as Google, Amazon, and Twitter, which all offer their staff temporary spaces to get work done on the road. The business model is allowing companies to test a new market in a prime location relatively risk-free.
A Byproduct of the Recession
There’s no question that the emergence of co-working spaces was a byproduct of the recession. Recent grads found themselves without jobs, leaving them to carve paths as freelancers and entrepreneurs. Ironic as it may be that a recession was an inspiration for one of the most influential drivers of commercial real estate in successful mixed-use urban developments — the results are impactful. As revitalized urban centers continue to surface in major cities across the U.S., the upward trajectory of co-working spaces looks like it’s here to stay. It can even be considered a disruptive idea for office property owners.
Also contributing to the healthy outlook for co-working spaces, the demand for freelancers is on the rise as employers seek to streamline operations and reduce overhead. About 34 percent of the U.S. workforce is comprised of freelancers. Millennials are particularly driving this shift, as they prefer greater flexibility and a project-to-project lifestyle. Employers and developers must accommodate this increasingly diverse workforce with different expectations of what work is, and where and when it should happen.
Project Announcements
Blue Buffalo Expands Richmond, Indiana, Production Complex
03/24/2023
Schrödinger Expands New York, New York, Research Operations
03/23/2023
Cirba Solutions Plans Richland County, South Carolina, Lithium-ion Battery Materials Campus
03/23/2023
Albemarle Corporation Plans Chester County, South Carolina, Lithium Hydroxide Processing Plant
03/23/2023
Tillamook County Creamery Association Plans Decatur, Illinois, Ice Cream Manufacturing Plant
03/23/2023
ENTEK Plans Terre Haute, Indiana, ‘Wet-Process’ Lithium-ion Battery Plant
03/23/2023
Most Read
-
37th Annual Corporate Survey: Economic Pressures Exerting Greatest Effect on Decision-Makers
Q1 2023
-
19th Annual Consultants Survey: Clients Challenged by Tight Labor Market, Energy Availability
Q1 2023
-
The Top Investment Location Prospects for Aerospace Manufacturing
Q1 2023
-
2022 Top States for Doing Business Provide an Environment for Business Growth
Q3 2022
-
36th Annual Corporate Survey: Executives Focus on Labor, Energy, Shipping Costs
Q1 2022
-
How Are Economic Developers Partnering to Solve Workforce Challenges?
Q1 2023
-
Strategies to Overcome Intensifying Industrial Real Estate Challenges
Q1 2023