Credit: BBJ
Your phone provider could be your new office landlord. Verizon is dipping into the market by converting former telecommunication space to office space and partnering with Alley to run it.
From Bizjournals.com:
“Alley, powered by Verizon,” the new membership-only, 10,000-square-foot space in Cambridge is scheduled to open at the end of June at 10 Ware St. The facility served as a central office for Verizon (NYSE: VZ) that previously housed network and telecommunications equipment.
WeWork
It is clear, Co-working is a valuable resource when launching a company. Depending on, in part your age, or size of your company, shared space is by far changing the traditional office environment. No longer are we a society of cubes and offices; we now have huddle rooms, phone booths, collaboration stations and quiet spaces.
There’s a variety of co-working options and environments available to applicable enterprises; for instances, at WeWork businesses can receive the following:
HOT DESK
A shared workspace in a common area. When you purchase a Hot Desk, there is no need to reserve a particular workspace in advance each day; you can come and go as needed and use any available desk.
This plan includes access to our digital Member Network, events, and services, 24/7 keycard access at your home location, as well as 2 monthly credits for reserving workspaces and conference rooms.
DEDICATED DESK
An assigned desk space in a large open area shared with other members. This dedicated space comes with a lockable filing cabinet for your personal belongings. Desktops may be set up and left overnight. This plan includes access to our digital Member Network, events, and services, 24/7 keycard access at your home location, as well as 5 monthly credits for reserving workspaces and conference rooms.
PRIVATE OFFICE
A fully enclosed, lockable office space. Your company can add on more offices as you grow. This plan includes access to our digital Member Network, events, and services, 24/7 keycard access at your home location, as well as monthly credits for reserving workspaces and conference rooms that correlate with your office size (minimum of 12 credits for a 1 person office).
You can read more on the Daily Free press website.
Coworking office space in Boston by geographic location, courtesy of Xconomy:
Credit: Xconomy
Andy Palmer, a Boston serial entrepreneur and angel investor, ‘thinks Boston would be best served by a series of spaces spread among different neighborhoods along the subway system’s Red Line, which touches the city’s busiest startup hubs, including Kendall Square in Cambridge and the Seaport District and Downtown Crossing in Boston. And if you look at the map, that strategy seems to be playing out…Boston’s neighborhoods “all need good, solid coworking spaces because they all have startups and founders that want to do startups in these areas,” Palmer says. “It’s healthy to have these short-term lease options in every one of these areas.”’
Shared space for life sciences is a has a new host, Mass Innovations Labs, in Kendall Square. The program offers everything from office and bench layouts to EH&S Programs.
From the Boston Globe:
Mass Innovation Labs said Monday that it was opening an “accelerated commercialization space” for companies trying to bring their drugs and devices to market. There also are specialized services available in-house, such as help setting up research contracts and an animal testing and scientific support area run by Charles River Laboratories…The three-story space hosts 10 suites containing a mix of lab and office space ranging from 2,900 to 18,000 square feet. It is backed by Breed’s Hill Capital, a Charlestown firm.
Credit: BBJ
Co-working won’t change the need for companies to have office, but rather it will bring those that are in home offices and garages into a dynamic environment.
The BBJ is indicating that Bostonians are likely to “see a surge in co-working spaces around Massachusetts thanks to funds made available to residents in select cities across Massachusetts. The spaces, which typically feature a variety of entrepreneurs in shared office space that doesn’t require a long-term lease, have become such a big part of the Greater Boston’s startup scene. But new grants available to entrepreneurs in Massachusetts’ 28 Gateway Cities— from Everett and Worcester to Fall River — aim to spread the concept of co-working spaces beyond Boston, Cambridge and Somerville.”
You can view the full article on the Boston Business Journal, here.
Credit: BBJ
Co-working office spaces continue to create a platform where innovative ideas can turn into companies. Yes, I’m a fan of Shark Tank and I love how the show boils a product pitch down to five minutes from pitch to investment.
Reporting on the local angle on the show, the BBJ notes that “entrepreneurs drove from New York, New Jersey and Connecticut to pitch their business ideas at Cambridge co-working space Workbar on Thursday in hopes of getting national exposure on ABC’s Shark Tank…About 100 people were standing in line an hour before pitches started.
The growing interest and relevance of co-working office space in Cambridge is beneficial to both the entrepreneurs, who will spur future growth, as well as the environment and infrastructure that surrounds it.
For details on the five selected entrepreneurs, read the full article on the Boston Business Journal.