Standard for sq ft required per person

Piper_Hood · March 30, 2015, 4:33pm

I am in the process of leasing space for a new coworking business. Is there any industry standard for # SQ Ft needed per person? For example, I am thinking 40 square feet for each seat I can sell (averaged out for shared, dedicated desk and mini office suites), so a 4,000 square foot space would allow me to sell 100 memberships. Also, is there a standard # or percentage you can oversell by? Thanks for any help for the newbie!

Aaron_Cruikshank · March 30, 2015, 4:38pm

Hi Piper,

40 sqft per desk seems reasonable. Just make sure you’re measuring out common areas. Most spaces have 25-30% set aside for meeting rooms, lounges, kitchenettes, hallways, phone booths, etc…

Aaron

···

Aaron Cruikshank

Principal, CRUIKSHANK

Phone: 778.908.4560

email: [email protected]

web: cruikshank.me

twitter: @cruikshank

book a meeting: doodle.com/cruikshank

linkedin: linkedin.com/in/cruikshank

On Mar 30, 2015 9:35 AM, “‘Piper Hood’ via Coworking” [email protected] wrote:

I am in the process of leasing space for a new coworking business. Is there any industry standard for # SQ Ft needed per person? For example, I am thinking 40 square feet for each seat I can sell (averaged out for shared, dedicated desk and mini office suites), so a 4,000 square foot space would allow me to sell 100 memberships. Also, is there a standard # or percentage you can oversell by? Thanks for any help for the newbie!

–

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Jerome · March 30, 2015, 4:42pm

Please keep in mind that most corporations allocate 200-300sf/person
Some indicators are leaning toward 175sf/person now

Past discussions here in the coworking Google Group, if I recall correctly, have been about 90-100sf/person.

40 sf/person would be a new record, in my book, and I’ve been doing this as an architect and space operator for 8 years.
JEROME CHANG

WEST: Santa Monica
1450 2nd Street (@Broadway) | Santa Monica CA 90401
ph: (310) 526-2255

CENTRAL: Mid-Wilshire
5405 Wilshire Blvd (2 blocks west of La Brea) | Los Angeles CA 90036
ph: (323) 330-9505

EAST: Downtown
529 S. Broadway, Suite 4000 (@Pershing Square) | Los Angeles CA 90013
ph: (213) 550-2235

···

On Mar 30, 2015, at 9:38 AM, Aaron Cruikshank [email protected] wrote:

Hi Piper,

40 sqft per desk seems reasonable. Just make sure you’re measuring out common areas. Most spaces have 25-30% set aside for meeting rooms, lounges, kitchenettes, hallways, phone booths, etc…

Aaron

Aaron Cruikshank

Principal, CRUIKSHANK

Phone: 778.908.4560

email: [email protected]

web: cruikshank.me

twitter: @cruikshank

book a meeting: doodle.com/cruikshank

linkedin: linkedin.com/in/cruikshank

On Mar 30, 2015 9:35 AM, “‘Piper Hood’ via Coworking” [email protected] wrote:

I am in the process of leasing space for a new coworking business. Is there any industry standard for # SQ Ft needed per person? For example, I am thinking 40 square feet for each seat I can sell (averaged out for shared, dedicated desk and mini office suites), so a 4,000 square foot space would allow me to sell 100 memberships. Also, is there a standard # or percentage you can oversell by? Thanks for any help for the newbie!

–

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Aaron_Cruikshank · March 30, 2015, 4:46pm

If you’re calculating by how much cumulative space you need per person including common areas and amenities, Jerome is right but my assessment is no less accurate. I’ve worked on several spaces where 40 sqft per desk is plenty. But we calculate the other areas separately.

I’ve only been in this space for three years (eye roll) so please, take my advice with a grain of salt.

···

Aaron Cruikshank

Principal, CRUIKSHANK

Phone: 778.908.4560

email: [email protected]

web: cruikshank.me

twitter: @cruikshank

book a meeting: doodle.com/cruikshank

linkedin: linkedin.com/in/cruikshank

On Mar 30, 2015 9:42 AM, “Jerome Chang” [email protected] wrote:

Please keep in mind that most corporations allocate 200-300sf/person
Some indicators are leaning toward 175sf/person now

Past discussions here in the coworking Google Group, if I recall correctly, have been about 90-100sf/person.

40 sf/person would be a new record, in my book, and I’ve been doing this as an architect and space operator for 8 years.
JEROME CHANG

WEST: Santa Monica
1450 2nd Street (@Broadway) | Santa Monica CA 90401
ph: (310) 526-2255

CENTRAL: Mid-Wilshire
5405 Wilshire Blvd (2 blocks west of La Brea) | Los Angeles CA 90036
ph: (323) 330-9505

EAST: Downtown
529 S. Broadway, Suite 4000 (@Pershing Square) | Los Angeles CA 90013
ph: (213) 550-2235

On Mar 30, 2015, at 9:38 AM, Aaron Cruikshank [email protected] wrote:

Hi Piper,

40 sqft per desk seems reasonable. Just make sure you’re measuring out common areas. Most spaces have 25-30% set aside for meeting rooms, lounges, kitchenettes, hallways, phone booths, etc…

Aaron

Aaron Cruikshank

Principal, CRUIKSHANK

Phone: 778.908.4560

email: [email protected]

web: cruikshank.me

twitter: @cruikshank

book a meeting: doodle.com/cruikshank

linkedin: linkedin.com/in/cruikshank

On Mar 30, 2015 9:35 AM, “‘Piper Hood’ via Coworking” [email protected] wrote:

I am in the process of leasing space for a new coworking business. Is there any industry standard for # SQ Ft needed per person? For example, I am thinking 40 square feet for each seat I can sell (averaged out for shared, dedicated desk and mini office suites), so a 4,000 square foot space would allow me to sell 100 memberships. Also, is there a standard # or percentage you can oversell by? Thanks for any help for the newbie!

–

Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com

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Jerome · March 30, 2015, 5:16pm

woah, sorry if I was being condescending. I only meant that I study this from both user and architect perspectives.
Let me clarify again. 40 sf can be appropriate if you’re just talking about the desk and its immediately surrounding sitting area.

As Aaron said before, common areas and hallways need to be considered, and where I wanted to clarify is that the 25-30% is added to on top of the 40sf.

I would also caution that 25-30% on top of 40, or 50-55sf, would still be pretty dense relative to industry metrics, but I think everyone gets the math here.

Again, sorry for sounding any different than trying to clarify the math.

JEROME CHANG

···

On Mar 30, 2015, at 9:46 AM, Aaron Cruikshank [email protected] wrote:

If you’re calculating by how much cumulative space you need per person including common areas and amenities, Jerome is right but my assessment is no less accurate. I’ve worked on several spaces where 40 sqft per desk is plenty. But we calculate the other areas separately.

I’ve only been in this space for three years (eye roll) so please, take my advice with a grain of salt.

Aaron Cruikshank

Principal, CRUIKSHANK

Phone: 778.908.4560

email: [email protected]

web: cruikshank.me

twitter: @cruikshank

book a meeting: doodle.com/cruikshank

linkedin: linkedin.com/in/cruikshank

On Mar 30, 2015 9:42 AM, “Jerome Chang” [email protected] wrote:

Please keep in mind that most corporations allocate 200-300sf/person
Some indicators are leaning toward 175sf/person now

Past discussions here in the coworking Google Group, if I recall correctly, have been about 90-100sf/person.

40 sf/person would be a new record, in my book, and I’ve been doing this as an architect and space operator for 8 years.
JEROME CHANG

WEST: Santa Monica
1450 2nd Street (@Broadway) | Santa Monica CA 90401
ph: (310) 526-2255

CENTRAL: Mid-Wilshire
5405 Wilshire Blvd (2 blocks west of La Brea) | Los Angeles CA 90036
ph: (323) 330-9505

EAST: Downtown
529 S. Broadway, Suite 4000 (@Pershing Square) | Los Angeles CA 90013
ph: (213) 550-2235

<yelp-s.png><twitter-bird3-square.png><facebook-logo-square.png><linkedin-logo-square2.png><vimeo-s.png>

On Mar 30, 2015, at 9:38 AM, Aaron Cruikshank [email protected] wrote:

Hi Piper,

40 sqft per desk seems reasonable. Just make sure you’re measuring out common areas. Most spaces have 25-30% set aside for meeting rooms, lounges, kitchenettes, hallways, phone booths, etc…

Aaron

Aaron Cruikshank

Principal, CRUIKSHANK

Phone: 778.908.4560

email: [email protected]

web: cruikshank.me

twitter: @cruikshank

book a meeting: doodle.com/cruikshank

linkedin: linkedin.com/in/cruikshank

On Mar 30, 2015 9:35 AM, “‘Piper Hood’ via Coworking” [email protected] wrote:

I am in the process of leasing space for a new coworking business. Is there any industry standard for # SQ Ft needed per person? For example, I am thinking 40 square feet for each seat I can sell (averaged out for shared, dedicated desk and mini office suites), so a 4,000 square foot space would allow me to sell 100 memberships. Also, is there a standard # or percentage you can oversell by? Thanks for any help for the newbie!

–

Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com

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ramonsuarez · March 30, 2015, 5:43pm

J'aime Aranda and I made some calculations for coworkinghandbook.com and we figured out a bit over 1200ft2 for twenty desks without an event area. The calculations are detailed in the book

Tabari_Brannon · March 30, 2015, 8:40pm

HI I found this cool tool online which may help you for calculating space.

···

On Monday, March 30, 2015 at 9:35:30 AM UTC-7, Piper Hood wrote:

I am in the process of leasing space for a new coworking business. Is there any industry standard for # SQ Ft needed per person? For example, I am thinking 40 square feet for each seat I can sell (averaged out for shared, dedicated desk and mini office suites), so a 4,000 square foot space would allow me to sell 100 memberships. Also, is there a standard # or percentage you can oversell by? Thanks for any help for the newbie!

Piper_Hood · March 30, 2015, 9:34pm

I just bought your book earlier today! Thanks.

···

On Monday, March 30, 2015 at 1:43:38 PM UTC-4, Ramon Suarez wrote:

J’aime Aranda and I made some calculations for coworkinghandbook.com and we figured out a bit over 1200ft2 for twenty desks without an event area. The calculations are detailed in the book

Piper_Hood · March 30, 2015, 9:35pm

Thank you Aaron and Jerome. That is helpful. Any input on what percentage you can sell over the spaces you have accounting for people not using the space regularly?

···

On Monday, March 30, 2015 at 12:38:48 PM UTC-4, Aaron Cruikshank wrote:

Hi Piper,

40 sqft per desk seems reasonable. Just make sure you’re measuring out common areas. Most spaces have 25-30% set aside for meeting rooms, lounges, kitchenettes, hallways, phone booths, etc…

Aaron

Aaron Cruikshank

Principal, CRUIKSHANK

Phone: 778.908.4560

email: [email protected]

web: cruikshank.me

twitter: @cruikshank

book a meeting: doodle.com/cruikshank

linkedin: linkedin.com/in/cruikshank

On Mar 30, 2015 9:35 AM, “‘Piper Hood’ via Coworking” [email protected] wrote:

I am in the process of leasing space for a new coworking business. Is there any industry standard for # SQ Ft needed per person? For example, I am thinking 40 square feet for each seat I can sell (averaged out for shared, dedicated desk and mini office suites), so a 4,000 square foot space would allow me to sell 100 memberships. Also, is there a standard # or percentage you can oversell by? Thanks for any help for the newbie!

–

Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com

You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups “Coworking” group.

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Brian_Ahmes · March 30, 2015, 9:53pm

Hey there,
let me continue with asking about the building occupancy amount. Based on the city, a building with a Business or Mercantile Use type has a square footage per occupant defined? My city states 100sf per person, even though I can have a space zppx 50sf with a chair and desk. How are coworking spaces getting around city codes and occupancy? Just not show the furniture in the city permit plans and add later? Any insight would be great, because 100sf per person in a coworking space significantly reduces the # of members.

thanks, brian

···

On Monday, March 30, 2015 at 4:37:10 PM UTC-5, Piper Hood wrote:

Thank you Aaron and Jerome. That is helpful. Any input on what percentage you can sell over the spaces you have accounting for people not using the space regularly?

On Monday, March 30, 2015 at 12:38:48 PM UTC-4, Aaron Cruikshank wrote:

Hi Piper,

40 sqft per desk seems reasonable. Just make sure you’re measuring out common areas. Most spaces have 25-30% set aside for meeting rooms, lounges, kitchenettes, hallways, phone booths, etc…

Aaron

Aaron Cruikshank

Principal, CRUIKSHANK

Phone: 778.908.4560

email: [email protected]

web: cruikshank.me

twitter: @cruikshank

book a meeting: doodle.com/cruikshank

linkedin: linkedin.com/in/cruikshank

On Mar 30, 2015 9:35 AM, “‘Piper Hood’ via Coworking” [email protected] wrote:

I am in the process of leasing space for a new coworking business. Is there any industry standard for # SQ Ft needed per person? For example, I am thinking 40 square feet for each seat I can sell (averaged out for shared, dedicated desk and mini office suites), so a 4,000 square foot space would allow me to sell 100 memberships. Also, is there a standard # or percentage you can oversell by? Thanks for any help for the newbie!

–

Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com

You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups “Coworking” group.

To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected].

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Jerome · March 30, 2015, 11:30pm

City codes and even landlords are still catching up to understand how we use our space.
So in the meantime, you should submit to them whatever they need to certify that your drawings comply w/ codes.

Does this mean showing/not showing furniture? Possibly. Note that city codes are more concerned about permanently affixed items like walls - not typically furniture that can be moved/relocated.
JEROME CHANG

WEST: Santa Monica
1450 2nd Street (@Broadway) | Santa Monica CA 90401
ph: (310) 526-2255

CENTRAL: Mid-Wilshire
5405 Wilshire Blvd (2 blocks west of La Brea) | Los Angeles CA 90036
ph: (323) 330-9505

EAST: Downtown
529 S. Broadway, Suite 4000 (@Pershing Square) | Los Angeles CA 90013
ph: (213) 550-2235

···

On Mar 30, 2015, at 2:53 PM, Brian Ahmes [email protected] wrote:

Hey there,
let me continue with asking about the building occupancy amount. Based on the city, a building with a Business or Mercantile Use type has a square footage per occupant defined? My city states 100sf per person, even though I can have a space zppx 50sf with a chair and desk. How are coworking spaces getting around city codes and occupancy? Just not show the furniture in the city permit plans and add later? Any insight would be great, because 100sf per person in a coworking space significantly reduces the # of members.

thanks, brian

On Monday, March 30, 2015 at 4:37:10 PM UTC-5, Piper Hood wrote:

Thank you Aaron and Jerome. That is helpful. Any input on what percentage you can sell over the spaces you have accounting for people not using the space regularly?

On Monday, March 30, 2015 at 12:38:48 PM UTC-4, Aaron Cruikshank wrote:

Hi Piper,

40 sqft per desk seems reasonable. Just make sure you’re measuring out common areas. Most spaces have 25-30% set aside for meeting rooms, lounges, kitchenettes, hallways, phone booths, etc…

Aaron

Aaron Cruikshank

Principal, CRUIKSHANK

Phone: 778.908.4560

email: [email protected]

web: cruikshank.me

twitter: @cruikshank

book a meeting: doodle.com/cruikshank

linkedin: linkedin.com/in/cruikshank

On Mar 30, 2015 9:35 AM, “‘Piper Hood’ via Coworking” [email protected] wrote:

I am in the process of leasing space for a new coworking business. Is there any industry standard for # SQ Ft needed per person? For example, I am thinking 40 square feet for each seat I can sell (averaged out for shared, dedicated desk and mini office suites), so a 4,000 square foot space would allow me to sell 100 memberships. Also, is there a standard # or percentage you can oversell by? Thanks for any help for the newbie!

–

Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com

You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups “Coworking” group.

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Brian_Ahmes · March 30, 2015, 11:46pm

Interesting, so have any coworking spaces been flagged for too many occupants by the fire marshall?

thanks for the response.

···

On Monday, March 30, 2015 at 6:30:56 PM UTC-5, Jerome wrote:

City codes and even landlords are still catching up to understand how we use our space.
So in the meantime, you should submit to them whatever they need to certify that your drawings comply w/ codes.

Does this mean showing/not showing furniture? Possibly. Note that city codes are more concerned about permanently affixed items like walls - not typically furniture that can be moved/relocated.
JEROME CHANG

WEST: Santa Monica
1450 2nd Street (@Broadway) | Santa Monica CA 90401
ph: (310) 526-2255

CENTRAL: Mid-Wilshire
5405 Wilshire Blvd (2 blocks west of La Brea) | Los Angeles CA 90036
ph: (323) 330-9505

EAST: Downtown
529 S. Broadway, Suite 4000 (@Pershing Square) | Los Angeles CA 90013
ph: (213) 550-2235

On Mar 30, 2015, at 2:53 PM, Brian Ahmes [email protected] wrote:

Hey there,
let me continue with asking about the building occupancy amount. Based on the city, a building with a Business or Mercantile Use type has a square footage per occupant defined? My city states 100sf per person, even though I can have a space zppx 50sf with a chair and desk. How are coworking spaces getting around city codes and occupancy? Just not show the furniture in the city permit plans and add later? Any insight would be great, because 100sf per person in a coworking space significantly reduces the # of members.

thanks, brian

On Monday, March 30, 2015 at 4:37:10 PM UTC-5, Piper Hood wrote:

Thank you Aaron and Jerome. That is helpful. Any input on what percentage you can sell over the spaces you have accounting for people not using the space regularly?

On Monday, March 30, 2015 at 12:38:48 PM UTC-4, Aaron Cruikshank wrote:

Hi Piper,

40 sqft per desk seems reasonable. Just make sure you’re measuring out common areas. Most spaces have 25-30% set aside for meeting rooms, lounges, kitchenettes, hallways, phone booths, etc…

Aaron

Aaron Cruikshank

Principal, CRUIKSHANK

Phone: 778.908.4560

email: [email protected]

web: cruikshank.me

twitter: @cruikshank

book a meeting: doodle.com/cruikshank

linkedin: linkedin.com/in/cruikshank

On Mar 30, 2015 9:35 AM, “‘Piper Hood’ via Coworking” [email protected] wrote:

I am in the process of leasing space for a new coworking business. Is there any industry standard for # SQ Ft needed per person? For example, I am thinking 40 square feet for each seat I can sell (averaged out for shared, dedicated desk and mini office suites), so a 4,000 square foot space would allow me to sell 100 memberships. Also, is there a standard # or percentage you can oversell by? Thanks for any help for the newbie!

–

Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com

You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups “Coworking” group.

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Jerome · March 31, 2015, 12:32am

Building code inspectors are typically different from fire code inspectors.
They also typically have different requirements.

How/when a fire inspector visits is less likely after passing initial certificate of occupancy.

So my guess is that few coworking spaces and few any spaces are flagged, unless you typically have a lot of very large events.

I realize that coworking spaces do have events, but fire inspectors typically visit more typical event venues - not “office spaces”.
JEROME CHANG

WEST: Santa Monica
1450 2nd Street (@Broadway) | Santa Monica CA 90401
ph: (310) 526-2255

CENTRAL: Mid-Wilshire
5405 Wilshire Blvd (2 blocks west of La Brea) | Los Angeles CA 90036
ph: (323) 330-9505

EAST: Downtown
529 S. Broadway, Suite 4000 (@Pershing Square) | Los Angeles CA 90013
ph: (213) 550-2235

···

On Mar 30, 2015, at 4:46 PM, Brian Ahmes [email protected] wrote:

Interesting, so have any coworking spaces been flagged for too many occupants by the fire marshall?

thanks for the response.

On Monday, March 30, 2015 at 6:30:56 PM UTC-5, Jerome wrote:

City codes and even landlords are still catching up to understand how we use our space.
So in the meantime, you should submit to them whatever they need to certify that your drawings comply w/ codes.

Does this mean showing/not showing furniture? Possibly. Note that city codes are more concerned about permanently affixed items like walls - not typically furniture that can be moved/relocated.
JEROME CHANG

WEST: Santa Monica
1450 2nd Street (@Broadway) | Santa Monica CA 90401
ph: (310) 526-2255

CENTRAL: Mid-Wilshire
5405 Wilshire Blvd (2 blocks west of La Brea) | Los Angeles CA 90036
ph: (323) 330-9505

EAST: Downtown
529 S. Broadway, Suite 4000 (@Pershing Square) | Los Angeles CA 90013
ph: (213) 550-2235

On Mar 30, 2015, at 2:53 PM, Brian Ahmes [email protected] wrote:

Hey there,
let me continue with asking about the building occupancy amount. Based on the city, a building with a Business or Mercantile Use type has a square footage per occupant defined? My city states 100sf per person, even though I can have a space zppx 50sf with a chair and desk. How are coworking spaces getting around city codes and occupancy? Just not show the furniture in the city permit plans and add later? Any insight would be great, because 100sf per person in a coworking space significantly reduces the # of members.

thanks, brian

On Monday, March 30, 2015 at 4:37:10 PM UTC-5, Piper Hood wrote:

Thank you Aaron and Jerome. That is helpful. Any input on what percentage you can sell over the spaces you have accounting for people not using the space regularly?

On Monday, March 30, 2015 at 12:38:48 PM UTC-4, Aaron Cruikshank wrote:

Hi Piper,

40 sqft per desk seems reasonable. Just make sure you’re measuring out common areas. Most spaces have 25-30% set aside for meeting rooms, lounges, kitchenettes, hallways, phone booths, etc…

Aaron

Aaron Cruikshank

Principal, CRUIKSHANK

Phone: 778.908.4560

email: [email protected]

web: cruikshank.me

twitter: @cruikshank

book a meeting: doodle.com/cruikshank

linkedin: linkedin.com/in/cruikshank

On Mar 30, 2015 9:35 AM, “‘Piper Hood’ via Coworking” [email protected] wrote:

I am in the process of leasing space for a new coworking business. Is there any industry standard for # SQ Ft needed per person? For example, I am thinking 40 square feet for each seat I can sell (averaged out for shared, dedicated desk and mini office suites), so a 4,000 square foot space would allow me to sell 100 memberships. Also, is there a standard # or percentage you can oversell by? Thanks for any help for the newbie!

–

Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com

You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups “Coworking” group.

To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected].

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Glen_Ferguson · March 31, 2015, 2:35pm

After many meetings with our architect and making sure he knew our usage plans - for example, our community room would be used for events and might only have chairs or standing room only - he dumped the project on one of his staff and told him “draw up this office.” We were pretty surprised to discover the plans they submitted to the city stipulated 100 sqft/person with a max occupancy of 19 people for the entire building. Needless to say, we won’t ever be using that architect again.

We met with the city fire inspector several times and he wasn’t an “out of the box” type of thinker, so we hired our own fire safety engineer to design a solution to present to the city. Part of the solution was as simple as adding a bookshelf/serving table in our community room to reduce occupiable space, the rest were relatively inexpensive modifications to the sprinkler system - far less expensive than the city’s “suggestion” that we dig up the street and put in a larger water line.

The end result was the city fire inspector could save face by accepting a plan another licensed engineer had signed off on, we can have up to 47 people in our event space and that’s not including the other rooms, and we kept the costs low enough that we didn’t abandon the project completely.

Glen Ferguson

Phone: 301-732-5165

Email: [email protected]

Website: http://coworkfrederick.com

Address: 122 E Patrick St, Frederick, MD 21701

···

On Mon, Mar 30, 2015 at 8:32 PM, Jerome Chang [email protected] wrote:

Building code inspectors are typically different from fire code inspectors.
They also typically have different requirements.

How/when a fire inspector visits is less likely after passing initial certificate of occupancy.

So my guess is that few coworking spaces and few any spaces are flagged, unless you typically have a lot of very large events.

I realize that coworking spaces do have events, but fire inspectors typically visit more typical event venues - not “office spaces”.
JEROME CHANG

WEST: Santa Monica
1450 2nd Street (@Broadway) | Santa Monica CA 90401
ph: (310) 526-2255

CENTRAL: Mid-Wilshire
5405 Wilshire Blvd (2 blocks west of La Brea) | Los Angeles CA 90036
ph: (323) 330-9505

EAST: Downtown
529 S. Broadway, Suite 4000 (@Pershing Square) | Los Angeles CA 90013
ph: (213) 550-2235

On Mar 30, 2015, at 4:46 PM, Brian Ahmes [email protected] wrote:

Interesting, so have any coworking spaces been flagged for too many occupants by the fire marshall?

thanks for the response.

On Monday, March 30, 2015 at 6:30:56 PM UTC-5, Jerome wrote:

City codes and even landlords are still catching up to understand how we use our space.
So in the meantime, you should submit to them whatever they need to certify that your drawings comply w/ codes.

Does this mean showing/not showing furniture? Possibly. Note that city codes are more concerned about permanently affixed items like walls - not typically furniture that can be moved/relocated.
JEROME CHANG

WEST: Santa Monica
1450 2nd Street (@Broadway) | Santa Monica CA 90401
ph: (310) 526-2255

CENTRAL: Mid-Wilshire
5405 Wilshire Blvd (2 blocks west of La Brea) | Los Angeles CA 90036
ph: (323) 330-9505

EAST: Downtown
529 S. Broadway, Suite 4000 (@Pershing Square) | Los Angeles CA 90013
ph: (213) 550-2235

On Mar 30, 2015, at 2:53 PM, Brian Ahmes [email protected] wrote:

Hey there,
let me continue with asking about the building occupancy amount. Based on the city, a building with a Business or Mercantile Use type has a square footage per occupant defined? My city states 100sf per person, even though I can have a space zppx 50sf with a chair and desk. How are coworking spaces getting around city codes and occupancy? Just not show the furniture in the city permit plans and add later? Any insight would be great, because 100sf per person in a coworking space significantly reduces the # of members.

thanks, brian

On Monday, March 30, 2015 at 4:37:10 PM UTC-5, Piper Hood wrote:

Thank you Aaron and Jerome. That is helpful. Any input on what percentage you can sell over the spaces you have accounting for people not using the space regularly?

On Monday, March 30, 2015 at 12:38:48 PM UTC-4, Aaron Cruikshank wrote:

Hi Piper,

40 sqft per desk seems reasonable. Just make sure you’re measuring out common areas. Most spaces have 25-30% set aside for meeting rooms, lounges, kitchenettes, hallways, phone booths, etc…

Aaron

Aaron Cruikshank

Principal, CRUIKSHANK

Phone: 778.908.4560

email: [email protected]

web: cruikshank.me

twitter: @cruikshank

book a meeting: doodle.com/cruikshank

linkedin: linkedin.com/in/cruikshank

On Mar 30, 2015 9:35 AM, “‘Piper Hood’ via Coworking” [email protected] wrote:

I am in the process of leasing space for a new coworking business. Is there any industry standard for # SQ Ft needed per person? For example, I am thinking 40 square feet for each seat I can sell (averaged out for shared, dedicated desk and mini office suites), so a 4,000 square foot space would allow me to sell 100 memberships. Also, is there a standard # or percentage you can oversell by? Thanks for any help for the newbie!

–

Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com

You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups “Coworking” group.

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Jerome · March 31, 2015, 2:43pm

I’m not sure if this was discussed but a simple 2nd door would’ve typically allowed occupancy to be above 49 people.

Jerome

···

On Mon, Mar 30, 2015 at 8:32 PM, Jerome Chang [email protected] wrote:

Building code inspectors are typically different from fire code inspectors.
They also typically have different requirements.

How/when a fire inspector visits is less likely after passing initial certificate of occupancy.

So my guess is that few coworking spaces and few any spaces are flagged, unless you typically have a lot of very large events.

I realize that coworking spaces do have events, but fire inspectors typically visit more typical event venues - not “office spaces”.
JEROME CHANG

WEST: Santa Monica
1450 2nd Street (@Broadway) | Santa Monica CA 90401
ph: (310) 526-2255

CENTRAL: Mid-Wilshire
5405 Wilshire Blvd (2 blocks west of La Brea) | Los Angeles CA 90036
ph: (323) 330-9505

EAST: Downtown
529 S. Broadway, Suite 4000 (@Pershing Square) | Los Angeles CA 90013
ph: (213) 550-2235

<yelp-s.png><twitter-bird3-square.png><facebook-logo-square.png><linkedin-logo-square2.png><vimeo-s.png>

On Mar 30, 2015, at 4:46 PM, Brian Ahmes [email protected] wrote:

Interesting, so have any coworking spaces been flagged for too many occupants by the fire marshall?

thanks for the response.

On Monday, March 30, 2015 at 6:30:56 PM UTC-5, Jerome wrote:

City codes and even landlords are still catching up to understand how we use our space.
So in the meantime, you should submit to them whatever they need to certify that your drawings comply w/ codes.

Does this mean showing/not showing furniture? Possibly. Note that city codes are more concerned about permanently affixed items like walls - not typically furniture that can be moved/relocated.
JEROME CHANG

WEST: Santa Monica
1450 2nd Street (@Broadway) | Santa Monica CA 90401
ph: (310) 526-2255

CENTRAL: Mid-Wilshire
5405 Wilshire Blvd (2 blocks west of La Brea) | Los Angeles CA 90036
ph: (323) 330-9505

EAST: Downtown
529 S. Broadway, Suite 4000 (@Pershing Square) | Los Angeles CA 90013
ph: (213) 550-2235

On Mar 30, 2015, at 2:53 PM, Brian Ahmes [email protected] wrote:

Hey there,
let me continue with asking about the building occupancy amount. Based on the city, a building with a Business or Mercantile Use type has a square footage per occupant defined? My city states 100sf per person, even though I can have a space zppx 50sf with a chair and desk. How are coworking spaces getting around city codes and occupancy? Just not show the furniture in the city permit plans and add later? Any insight would be great, because 100sf per person in a coworking space significantly reduces the # of members.

thanks, brian

On Monday, March 30, 2015 at 4:37:10 PM UTC-5, Piper Hood wrote:

Thank you Aaron and Jerome. That is helpful. Any input on what percentage you can sell over the spaces you have accounting for people not using the space regularly?

On Monday, March 30, 2015 at 12:38:48 PM UTC-4, Aaron Cruikshank wrote:

Hi Piper,

40 sqft per desk seems reasonable. Just make sure you’re measuring out common areas. Most spaces have 25-30% set aside for meeting rooms, lounges, kitchenettes, hallways, phone booths, etc…

Aaron

Aaron Cruikshank

Principal, CRUIKSHANK

Phone: 778.908.4560

email: [email protected]

web: cruikshank.me

twitter: @cruikshank

book a meeting: doodle.com/cruikshank

linkedin: linkedin.com/in/cruikshank

On Mar 30, 2015 9:35 AM, “‘Piper Hood’ via Coworking” [email protected] wrote:

I am in the process of leasing space for a new coworking business. Is there any industry standard for # SQ Ft needed per person? For example, I am thinking 40 square feet for each seat I can sell (averaged out for shared, dedicated desk and mini office suites), so a 4,000 square foot space would allow me to sell 100 memberships. Also, is there a standard # or percentage you can oversell by? Thanks for any help for the newbie!

–

Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com

You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups “Coworking” group.

To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected].

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Glen_Ferguson · March 31, 2015, 3:38pm

I’m not sure if this was discussed but a simple 2nd door would’ve typically allowed occupancy to be above 49 people.

Jerome, it was, I just omitted some of the details to keep from being too wordy. We also looked at an auxiliary pump with 1500 gal storage tank in the basement to supplement sprinkler water flow, but that was too out there and unheard of for the city.

We only have a single exit door to a public area. We’re landlocked on the other 3 sides by private property. That’s also a limitation that keeps us from solving our lack of handicap access. Well, that and being in the historic district both present an interesting set of constraints to work with. Though in all, we’re really pleased with our location and the solutions we’ve come up with.

Glen Ferguson

Phone: 301-732-5165

Email: [email protected]

Website: http://coworkfrederick.com

Address: 122 E Patrick St, Frederick, MD 21701

···

On Tue, Mar 31, 2015 at 10:43 AM, Jerome Chang [email protected] wrote:

I’m not sure if this was discussed but a simple 2nd door would’ve typically allowed occupancy to be above 49 people.

Jerome

On Mar 31, 2015, at 7:35 AM, Glen Ferguson [email protected] wrote:

After many meetings with our architect and making sure he knew our usage plans - for example, our community room would be used for events and might only have chairs or standing room only - he dumped the project on one of his staff and told him “draw up this office.” We were pretty surprised to discover the plans they submitted to the city stipulated 100 sqft/person with a max occupancy of 19 people for the entire building. Needless to say, we won’t ever be using that architect again.

We met with the city fire inspector several times and he wasn’t an “out of the box” type of thinker, so we hired our own fire safety engineer to design a solution to present to the city. Part of the solution was as simple as adding a bookshelf/serving table in our community room to reduce occupiable space, the rest were relatively inexpensive modifications to the sprinkler system - far less expensive than the city’s “suggestion” that we dig up the street and put in a larger water line.

The end result was the city fire inspector could save face by accepting a plan another licensed engineer had signed off on, we can have up to 47 people in our event space and that’s not including the other rooms, and we kept the costs low enough that we didn’t abandon the project completely.

Glen Ferguson

Phone: 301-732-5165

Email: gl…@coworkfrederick.com

Website: http://coworkfrederick.com

Address: 122 E Patrick St, Frederick, MD 21701

–

Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com

You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups “Coworking” group.

To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected].

For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.

On Mon, Mar 30, 2015 at 8:32 PM, Jerome Chang [email protected] wrote:

Building code inspectors are typically different from fire code inspectors.
They also typically have different requirements.

How/when a fire inspector visits is less likely after passing initial certificate of occupancy.

So my guess is that few coworking spaces and few any spaces are flagged, unless you typically have a lot of very large events.

I realize that coworking spaces do have events, but fire inspectors typically visit more typical event venues - not “office spaces”.

JEROME CHANG

WEST: Santa Monica
1450 2nd Street (@Broadway) | Santa Monica CA 90401
ph: (310) 526-2255

CENTRAL: Mid-Wilshire
5405 Wilshire Blvd (2 blocks west of La Brea) | Los Angeles CA 90036
ph: (323) 330-9505

EAST: Downtown
529 S. Broadway, Suite 4000 (@Pershing Square) | Los Angeles CA 90013
ph: (213) 550-2235

<yelp-s.png><twitter-bird3-square.png><facebook-logo-square.png><linkedin-logo-square2.png><vimeo-s.png>

On Mar 30, 2015, at 4:46 PM, Brian Ahmes [email protected] wrote:

Interesting, so have any coworking spaces been flagged for too many occupants by the fire marshall?

thanks for the response.

On Monday, March 30, 2015 at 6:30:56 PM UTC-5, Jerome wrote:

City codes and even landlords are still catching up to understand how we use our space.
So in the meantime, you should submit to them whatever they need to certify that your drawings comply w/ codes.

Does this mean showing/not showing furniture? Possibly. Note that city codes are more concerned about permanently affixed items like walls - not typically furniture that can be moved/relocated.
JEROME CHANG

WEST: Santa Monica
1450 2nd Street (@Broadway) | Santa Monica CA 90401
ph: (310) 526-2255

CENTRAL: Mid-Wilshire
5405 Wilshire Blvd (2 blocks west of La Brea) | Los Angeles CA 90036
ph: (323) 330-9505

EAST: Downtown
529 S. Broadway, Suite 4000 (@Pershing Square) | Los Angeles CA 90013
ph: (213) 550-2235

On Mar 30, 2015, at 2:53 PM, Brian Ahmes [email protected] wrote:

Hey there,
let me continue with asking about the building occupancy amount. Based on the city, a building with a Business or Mercantile Use type has a square footage per occupant defined? My city states 100sf per person, even though I can have a space zppx 50sf with a chair and desk. How are coworking spaces getting around city codes and occupancy? Just not show the furniture in the city permit plans and add later? Any insight would be great, because 100sf per person in a coworking space significantly reduces the # of members.

thanks, brian

On Monday, March 30, 2015 at 4:37:10 PM UTC-5, Piper Hood wrote:

Thank you Aaron and Jerome. That is helpful. Any input on what percentage you can sell over the spaces you have accounting for people not using the space regularly?

On Monday, March 30, 2015 at 12:38:48 PM UTC-4, Aaron Cruikshank wrote:

Hi Piper,

40 sqft per desk seems reasonable. Just make sure you’re measuring out common areas. Most spaces have 25-30% set aside for meeting rooms, lounges, kitchenettes, hallways, phone booths, etc…

Aaron

Aaron Cruikshank

Principal, CRUIKSHANK

Phone: 778.908.4560

email: [email protected]

web: cruikshank.me

twitter: @cruikshank

book a meeting: doodle.com/cruikshank

linkedin: linkedin.com/in/cruikshank

On Mar 30, 2015 9:35 AM, “‘Piper Hood’ via Coworking” [email protected] wrote:

I am in the process of leasing space for a new coworking business. Is there any industry standard for # SQ Ft needed per person? For example, I am thinking 40 square feet for each seat I can sell (averaged out for shared, dedicated desk and mini office suites), so a 4,000 square foot space would allow me to sell 100 memberships. Also, is there a standard # or percentage you can oversell by? Thanks for any help for the newbie!

–

Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com

You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups “Coworking” group.

To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected].

For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.

Jerome · March 31, 2015, 3:47pm

There’s another potential detail, that the 2nd door be certain 1/3 diagonal distance away from the 1st door. Was that considered?

Jerome

···

On Tue, Mar 31, 2015 at 10:43 AM, Jerome Chang [email protected] wrote:

I’m not sure if this was discussed but a simple 2nd door would’ve typically allowed occupancy to be above 49 people.

Jerome

On Mar 31, 2015, at 7:35 AM, Glen Ferguson [email protected] wrote:

After many meetings with our architect and making sure he knew our usage plans - for example, our community room would be used for events and might only have chairs or standing room only - he dumped the project on one of his staff and told him “draw up this office.” We were pretty surprised to discover the plans they submitted to the city stipulated 100 sqft/person with a max occupancy of 19 people for the entire building. Needless to say, we won’t ever be using that architect again.

We met with the city fire inspector several times and he wasn’t an “out of the box” type of thinker, so we hired our own fire safety engineer to design a solution to present to the city. Part of the solution was as simple as adding a bookshelf/serving table in our community room to reduce occupiable space, the rest were relatively inexpensive modifications to the sprinkler system - far less expensive than the city’s “suggestion” that we dig up the street and put in a larger water line.

The end result was the city fire inspector could save face by accepting a plan another licensed engineer had signed off on, we can have up to 47 people in our event space and that’s not including the other rooms, and we kept the costs low enough that we didn’t abandon the project completely.

Glen Ferguson

Phone: 301-732-5165

Email: gl…@coworkfrederick.com

Website: http://coworkfrederick.com

Address: 122 E Patrick St, Frederick, MD 21701

–

Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com

You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups “Coworking” group.

To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected].

For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.

On Mon, Mar 30, 2015 at 8:32 PM, Jerome Chang [email protected] wrote:

Building code inspectors are typically different from fire code inspectors.
They also typically have different requirements.

How/when a fire inspector visits is less likely after passing initial certificate of occupancy.

So my guess is that few coworking spaces and few any spaces are flagged, unless you typically have a lot of very large events.

I realize that coworking spaces do have events, but fire inspectors typically visit more typical event venues - not “office spaces”.

JEROME CHANG

WEST: Santa Monica
1450 2nd Street (@Broadway) | Santa Monica CA 90401
ph: (310) 526-2255

CENTRAL: Mid-Wilshire
5405 Wilshire Blvd (2 blocks west of La Brea) | Los Angeles CA 90036
ph: (323) 330-9505

EAST: Downtown
529 S. Broadway, Suite 4000 (@Pershing Square) | Los Angeles CA 90013
ph: (213) 550-2235

<yelp-s.png><twitter-bird3-square.png><facebook-logo-square.png><linkedin-logo-square2.png><vimeo-s.png>

On Mar 30, 2015, at 4:46 PM, Brian Ahmes [email protected] wrote:

Interesting, so have any coworking spaces been flagged for too many occupants by the fire marshall?

thanks for the response.

On Monday, March 30, 2015 at 6:30:56 PM UTC-5, Jerome wrote:

City codes and even landlords are still catching up to understand how we use our space.
So in the meantime, you should submit to them whatever they need to certify that your drawings comply w/ codes.

Does this mean showing/not showing furniture? Possibly. Note that city codes are more concerned about permanently affixed items like walls - not typically furniture that can be moved/relocated.
JEROME CHANG

WEST: Santa Monica
1450 2nd Street (@Broadway) | Santa Monica CA 90401
ph: (310) 526-2255

CENTRAL: Mid-Wilshire
5405 Wilshire Blvd (2 blocks west of La Brea) | Los Angeles CA 90036
ph: (323) 330-9505

EAST: Downtown
529 S. Broadway, Suite 4000 (@Pershing Square) | Los Angeles CA 90013
ph: (213) 550-2235

On Mar 30, 2015, at 2:53 PM, Brian Ahmes [email protected] wrote:

Hey there,
let me continue with asking about the building occupancy amount. Based on the city, a building with a Business or Mercantile Use type has a square footage per occupant defined? My city states 100sf per person, even though I can have a space zppx 50sf with a chair and desk. How are coworking spaces getting around city codes and occupancy? Just not show the furniture in the city permit plans and add later? Any insight would be great, because 100sf per person in a coworking space significantly reduces the # of members.

thanks, brian

On Monday, March 30, 2015 at 4:37:10 PM UTC-5, Piper Hood wrote:

Thank you Aaron and Jerome. That is helpful. Any input on what percentage you can sell over the spaces you have accounting for people not using the space regularly?

On Monday, March 30, 2015 at 12:38:48 PM UTC-4, Aaron Cruikshank wrote:

Hi Piper,

40 sqft per desk seems reasonable. Just make sure you’re measuring out common areas. Most spaces have 25-30% set aside for meeting rooms, lounges, kitchenettes, hallways, phone booths, etc…

Aaron

Aaron Cruikshank

Principal, CRUIKSHANK

Phone: 778.908.4560

email: [email protected]

web: cruikshank.me

twitter: @cruikshank

book a meeting: doodle.com/cruikshank

linkedin: linkedin.com/in/cruikshank

On Mar 30, 2015 9:35 AM, “‘Piper Hood’ via Coworking” [email protected] wrote:

I am in the process of leasing space for a new coworking business. Is there any industry standard for # SQ Ft needed per person? For example, I am thinking 40 square feet for each seat I can sell (averaged out for shared, dedicated desk and mini office suites), so a 4,000 square foot space would allow me to sell 100 memberships. Also, is there a standard # or percentage you can oversell by? Thanks for any help for the newbie!

–

Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com

You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups “Coworking” group.

To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected].

For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.

Glen_Ferguson · March 31, 2015, 5:27pm

Really, there isn’t a second exit solution short of buying one of the adjacent buildings and having the lots combined or joining the structures. The only place a second door could be located is on the same facade as the current door, which is a 21’ wide row house.

Jerome, I always appreciate your architectural insights, be it structural or sound-reduction or a myriad of other areas, but I think we’re veering away from the message thread a bit. My anecdote was hopefully to illustrate that fire code can still be adhered to and occupancy levels increased beyond the 100 sqft/person, but it might take some creativity that isn’t natively found in the code department at city hall.

I owe you a drink when I see you at GCUC as a small thanks for all the help you’ve provided me over the years.

Glen Ferguson

Phone: 301-732-5165

Email: [email protected]

Website: http://coworkfrederick.com

Address: 122 E Patrick St, Frederick, MD 21701

···

On Tue, Mar 31, 2015 at 11:47 AM, Jerome Chang [email protected] wrote:

There’s another potential detail, that the 2nd door be certain 1/3 diagonal distance away from the 1st door. Was that considered?

Jerome

On Mar 31, 2015, at 8:38 AM, Glen Ferguson [email protected] wrote:

I’m not sure if this was discussed but a simple 2nd door would’ve typically allowed occupancy to be above 49 people.

Jerome, it was, I just omitted some of the details to keep from being too wordy. We also looked at an auxiliary pump with 1500 gal storage tank in the basement to supplement sprinkler water flow, but that was too out there and unheard of for the city.

We only have a single exit door to a public area. We’re landlocked on the other 3 sides by private property. That’s also a limitation that keeps us from solving our lack of handicap access. Well, that and being in the historic district both present an interesting set of constraints to work with. Though in all, we’re really pleased with our location and the solutions we’ve come up with.

Glen Ferguson

Phone: 301-732-5165

Email: gl…@coworkfrederick.com

Website: http://coworkfrederick.com

Address: 122 E Patrick St, Frederick, MD 21701

–

Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com

You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups “Coworking” group.

To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected].

For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.

On Tue, Mar 31, 2015 at 10:43 AM, Jerome Chang [email protected] wrote:

I’m not sure if this was discussed but a simple 2nd door would’ve typically allowed occupancy to be above 49 people.

Jerome

On Mar 31, 2015, at 7:35 AM, Glen Ferguson [email protected] wrote:

After many meetings with our architect and making sure he knew our usage plans - for example, our community room would be used for events and might only have chairs or standing room only - he dumped the project on one of his staff and told him “draw up this office.” We were pretty surprised to discover the plans they submitted to the city stipulated 100 sqft/person with a max occupancy of 19 people for the entire building. Needless to say, we won’t ever be using that architect again.

We met with the city fire inspector several times and he wasn’t an “out of the box” type of thinker, so we hired our own fire safety engineer to design a solution to present to the city. Part of the solution was as simple as adding a bookshelf/serving table in our community room to reduce occupiable space, the rest were relatively inexpensive modifications to the sprinkler system - far less expensive than the city’s “suggestion” that we dig up the street and put in a larger water line.

The end result was the city fire inspector could save face by accepting a plan another licensed engineer had signed off on, we can have up to 47 people in our event space and that’s not including the other rooms, and we kept the costs low enough that we didn’t abandon the project completely.

Glen Ferguson

Phone: 301-732-5165

Email: gl…@coworkfrederick.com

Website: http://coworkfrederick.com

Address: 122 E Patrick St, Frederick, MD 21701

–

Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com

You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups “Coworking” group.

To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected].

For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.

On Mon, Mar 30, 2015 at 8:32 PM, Jerome Chang [email protected] wrote:

Building code inspectors are typically different from fire code inspectors.
They also typically have different requirements.

How/when a fire inspector visits is less likely after passing initial certificate of occupancy.

So my guess is that few coworking spaces and few any spaces are flagged, unless you typically have a lot of very large events.

I realize that coworking spaces do have events, but fire inspectors typically visit more typical event venues - not “office spaces”.

JEROME CHANG

WEST: Santa Monica
1450 2nd Street (@Broadway) | Santa Monica CA 90401
ph: (310) 526-2255

CENTRAL: Mid-Wilshire
5405 Wilshire Blvd (2 blocks west of La Brea) | Los Angeles CA 90036
ph: (323) 330-9505

EAST: Downtown
529 S. Broadway, Suite 4000 (@Pershing Square) | Los Angeles CA 90013
ph: (213) 550-2235

<yelp-s.png><twitter-bird3-square.png><facebook-logo-square.png><linkedin-logo-square2.png><vimeo-s.png>

On Mar 30, 2015, at 4:46 PM, Brian Ahmes [email protected] wrote:

Interesting, so have any coworking spaces been flagged for too many occupants by the fire marshall?

thanks for the response.

On Monday, March 30, 2015 at 6:30:56 PM UTC-5, Jerome wrote:

City codes and even landlords are still catching up to understand how we use our space.
So in the meantime, you should submit to them whatever they need to certify that your drawings comply w/ codes.

Does this mean showing/not showing furniture? Possibly. Note that city codes are more concerned about permanently affixed items like walls - not typically furniture that can be moved/relocated.
JEROME CHANG

WEST: Santa Monica
1450 2nd Street (@Broadway) | Santa Monica CA 90401
ph: (310) 526-2255

CENTRAL: Mid-Wilshire
5405 Wilshire Blvd (2 blocks west of La Brea) | Los Angeles CA 90036
ph: (323) 330-9505

EAST: Downtown
529 S. Broadway, Suite 4000 (@Pershing Square) | Los Angeles CA 90013
ph: (213) 550-2235

On Mar 30, 2015, at 2:53 PM, Brian Ahmes [email protected] wrote:

Hey there,
let me continue with asking about the building occupancy amount. Based on the city, a building with a Business or Mercantile Use type has a square footage per occupant defined? My city states 100sf per person, even though I can have a space zppx 50sf with a chair and desk. How are coworking spaces getting around city codes and occupancy? Just not show the furniture in the city permit plans and add later? Any insight would be great, because 100sf per person in a coworking space significantly reduces the # of members.

thanks, brian

On Monday, March 30, 2015 at 4:37:10 PM UTC-5, Piper Hood wrote:

Thank you Aaron and Jerome. That is helpful. Any input on what percentage you can sell over the spaces you have accounting for people not using the space regularly?

On Monday, March 30, 2015 at 12:38:48 PM UTC-4, Aaron Cruikshank wrote:

Hi Piper,

40 sqft per desk seems reasonable. Just make sure you’re measuring out common areas. Most spaces have 25-30% set aside for meeting rooms, lounges, kitchenettes, hallways, phone booths, etc…

Aaron

Aaron Cruikshank

Principal, CRUIKSHANK

Phone: 778.908.4560

email: [email protected]

web: cruikshank.me

twitter: @cruikshank

book a meeting: doodle.com/cruikshank

linkedin: linkedin.com/in/cruikshank

On Mar 30, 2015 9:35 AM, “‘Piper Hood’ via Coworking” [email protected] wrote:

I am in the process of leasing space for a new coworking business. Is there any industry standard for # SQ Ft needed per person? For example, I am thinking 40 square feet for each seat I can sell (averaged out for shared, dedicated desk and mini office suites), so a 4,000 square foot space would allow me to sell 100 memberships. Also, is there a standard # or percentage you can oversell by? Thanks for any help for the newbie!

–

Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com

You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups “Coworking” group.

To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected].

For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.