Coworking spaces of every size and focus have been popping up in Columbus in 2017. There’s parent-centric The Hive and Serendipity Lab’s 14,000 square foot first location Downtown. The suburbs are also seeing activity with the addition of Haven Collective in Upper Arlington, Brick House Blue in Dublin and and COhatch’s expansion in Worthington.
Add one more to the list of spaces designed for today’s growing freelance workforce: The Parker CoWorking at 221 N. Fourth St. in Downtown Columbus. Until recently, the address was home to another local business, FreshGames. The owner and the aesthetic are staying the same, but the space is finding a new purpose.
When the opportunity presented itself to sell the FreshGames a few months ago, Owner Stephan Smith felt the time was right.
“At heart I’m an entrepreneur,” Smith says. “I’ve been doing games for so long and I’ve got about 10 different things I want to do.”
Including coworking.
“I’ve been looking at doing some sort of coworking thing for years,” he says.
FreshGames took over the space that was formerly the storefront for longstanding Wheaton’s Popcorn about eight years ago. Smith has turned it into an upscale office with hardwood floors, exposed brick, wood beams and an eclectic design featuring unique artwork.
“There’s always been an interest from people wanting to come into this space,” Smith says.
Starting in November, a small group of coworkers will call The Parker home base.
“What I wanted to do was really focus on the creative community,” Parker says of his future tenants. The space’s tagline is “Coworking for Creatives,” which implies graphic designers, artists, video editors, entrepreneurs with creative concepts and the like.
“I’m really marketing our space towards more somewhat established people,” Smith adds.
With six large dedicated desks and two smaller workstations, The Parker will offer its tenants an opportunity to collide with individuals from like industries, but on a smaller scale than most coworking spaces, and, as Smith points out, easier access to the conference room. A bar area and quiet seating area at the front of the office also offer more room to spread out.
Pricing for the large desks will be $650/month, with month-to-month leases on a 30 day notice. The price includes traditional amenities like coffee, snacks, WiFi access and printing. The smaller workstations will rent at around $400/month. Smaller groups in the 5 to 20 person range can also use the space for after-hours meetings with special event, daily or hourly pricing.
For more information, visit theparkercoworking.com.
All photos by Susan Post.
