I work for a government agency in charge of state facilities. I’m conducting market research seeking any examples where state or local governments setup coworking spaces in their buildings. They could be public or privately run or run in a public-private partnership. I’m curious if there’s a track record of such spaces in the US and elsewhere. Why are they done? Can they successfully coexist within the existing area ecosystem? Can a system of spaces be setup in downtowns around a state or a large metro area? How does that work?
Hey Stephen,
Welcome!
There are a number of examples of all of these things. Government folks tend to most easily understand things in terms of incubators, which many governments have operated in various capacities in the past, so we could use that as a starting point for a conversation.
Coworking-specific, a couple of quick examples:
-
Gangplank - Government works with a local business
-
LMHQ - Operated by the Downtown Alliance (the lower Manhattan BID) with EDC funding
I work with folks to develop projects like these. Let me know if you’d like to discuss some more off-list!
Tony
···
On Tue, Oct 9, 2018 at 6:32 AM, Stephen M. Frey - AIA, LEED AP [email protected] wrote:
I work for a government agency in charge of state facilities. I’m conducting market research seeking any examples where state or local governments setup coworking spaces in their buildings. They could be public or privately run or run in a public-private partnership. I’m curious if there’s a track record of such spaces in the US and elsewhere. Why are they done? Can they successfully coexist within the existing area ecosystem? Can a system of spaces be setup in downtowns around a state or a large metro area? How does that work?
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Tony, thanks for your response. We’re just looking for information at this point to better understand what’s out there, operational models, and any case studies, best practices. You can email me at stephe...@vermont.gov
Thanks!
···
On Tuesday, October 9, 2018 at 12:57:36 PM UTC-4, Tony Bacigalupo wrote:
Hey Stephen,
Welcome!
There are a number of examples of all of these things. Government folks tend to most easily understand things in terms of incubators, which many governments have operated in various capacities in the past, so we could use that as a starting point for a conversation.
Coworking-specific, a couple of quick examples:
+ Gangplank - Government works with a local business
+ LMHQ - Operated by the Downtown Alliance (the lower Manhattan BID) with EDC fundingI work with folks to develop projects like these. Let me know if you'd like to discuss some more off-list!
Tony
---
New Work Cities • Coworking.org
On Tue, Oct 9, 2018 at 6:32 AM, Stephen M. Frey - AIA, LEED AP <[email protected]> wrote:
I work for a government agency in charge of state facilities. I’m conducting market research seeking any examples where state or local governments setup coworking spaces in their buildings. They could be public or privately run or run in a public-private partnership. I’m curious if there’s a track record of such spaces in the US and elsewhere. Why are they done? Can they successfully coexist within the existing area ecosystem? Can a system of spaces be setup in downtowns around a state or a large metro area? How does that work?--
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Also, I know some of the people responded mean well, but I don’t have a budget to pay consulting fees and the like. So if people are willing to collaborate and work together, great! Otherwise, thank you for reading the post.
Cheers,
Jamie
···
On Tue, Oct 9, 2018 at 4:10 PM Stephen M. Frey - AIA, LEED AP [email protected] wrote:
Tony, thanks for your response. We’re just looking for information at this point to better understand what’s out there, operational models, and any case studies, best practices. You can email me at [email protected]
Thanks!
On Tuesday, October 9, 2018 at 12:57:36 PM UTC-4, Tony Bacigalupo wrote:
Hey Stephen,
Welcome!
There are a number of examples of all of these things. Government folks tend to most easily understand things in terms of incubators, which many governments have operated in various capacities in the past, so we could use that as a starting point for a conversation.
Coworking-specific, a couple of quick examples:
- Gangplank - Government works with a local business
- LMHQ - Operated by the Downtown Alliance (the lower Manhattan BID) with EDC funding
I work with folks to develop projects like these. Let me know if you’d like to discuss some more off-list!
Tony
New Work Cities • Coworking.org
On Tue, Oct 9, 2018 at 6:32 AM, Stephen M. Frey - AIA, LEED AP [email protected] wrote:
I work for a government agency in charge of state facilities. I’m conducting market research seeking any examples where state or local governments setup coworking spaces in their buildings. They could be public or privately run or run in a public-private partnership. I’m curious if there’s a track record of such spaces in the US and elsewhere. Why are they done? Can they successfully coexist within the existing area ecosystem? Can a system of spaces be setup in downtowns around a state or a large metro area? How does that work?
–
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–
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I would be interested to hear more about this, if anyone has additional information since the OP? Existing public/private models or even just research on the systemic economic impact created by coworking spaces that could be used to advocate for new models.
We have an example here in Sydney from our State Government that is a 17,000m2 building split between 6 coworking spaces that support high growth tech and their own level of meeting rooms, wifi and a cafe. The original idea, is because Australia’s population is very concentrated along a 20km strip on the eastern seaboard and in a handful of major cities, its a urban landing pad for rural company innovation.
https://www.jobsfornsw.com.au/about-us/the-sydney-startup-hub
But here is the thing, I think this was a huge waste of taxpayers money, and here is why:
- Its now 18 months later, and while the building is doing ok, looking around it is only at 60% occupancy, meaning 40% of the $35m in grant money is being wasted
- The 6 spaces have each gained a benefit from the total grant of the $35m, mostly by way of subsidised space. This has mostly meant that each space has dropped their rates and have artificially dropped the rents in the market for coworking in the area, which along with large coworking companies like We Work has lead to a reduction of diverse and niche focused coworking spaces in Sydney
My preference is that the Government would put out a credit system, where any company that qualifies gets a little assistance to pay for the coworking space that suits them best. This would allow for organic growth of both coworking and innovative companies in a natural and sustainable way.
Carl
1 Like
What about government subsidized space competing with small business owners trying to run a coworking space?
We’ve had this issue in our city and it’s currently at risk of putting one of our original, much loved, coworking spaces out of business (and this space does amazing things for the community, this is not just someone trying to get rich subleasing space, I actually don’t think he pays himself anything to run it, he just loves providing the service and all the innovation that happens around it).
I’d love to see the government offer support to the coworking spaces themselves instead of competing with them.
Hey, Steven!
I’ve also seen several spaces like this pop up. There’s a great one in Denver called the Commons on Champa and I also know of several rural spaces in Colorado who are doing this as well. We’ve seen several Chambers move into coworking.