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    COhatch Collaborating With OSU on Newest Space in the University District

    Rapidly-expanding coworking company COhatch will create a first-of-its-kind space in the University District in collaboration with The Ohio State University.

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    Taking over more than 8,000 square feet of space at 1581 N. High St. at the Gateway, the location will include both traditional coworking space and OSU’s Digital Flagship Design Lab. The partnership will see both OSU students and staff and traditional business owners utilizing the space.

    OSU’s Digital Flagship program launched in 2017 as a “comprehensive, university-wide digital learning initiative that will support educational innovation for students and economic development opportunities for the community.”

    One goal of the program, which is presented through a collaboration with Apple, is to open a design laboratory on campus that serves faculty, staff, students and members of the broader community.

    COhatch Founder & CEO Matt Davis says OSU was looking for a way to progress their Digital Flagship program, but wanted the physical space component to be less like a traditional university classroom, so they connected with COhatch. The coworking space had also already been working with Gateway leasing partner Steiner + Associates on their Easton location.

    Davis says what OSU was looking for in their Design Lab resonated well with COhatch’s values as a community-driven space.

    The latest COhatch location will meet the needs of the technology, start-up and academic communities through a physical location that creates:

    • A technology development space that enables students to gain authentic real-world experience by mixing classroom learning with locally operating businesses and investors.
    • University-wide opportunities for students to learn coding skills to enhance their career-readiness in the app economy.
    • Programming that includes workshops for Ohio State students along with pitch competitions, investor meet and greets, small business workshops led by community members, internship and project job boards, and do-it-yourself community learning open houses.  

    Davis sees many possibilities for collisions between students and real-world business owners – from opportunities for internships, to tapping into students’ technology development skills.

    “Now more than ever we need to support entrepreneurs, freelancers and small businesses,” Davis says. “Our community needs them to innovate and help move us forward. It is our job to provide them with the spaces, tools and community to thrive. By collaborating with Ohio State to accelerate innovation and learning opportunities, we can create more authentic and meaningful experiences than we could have offered alone.” 

    Part of the space will be set up as a traditional COhatch location, with 25 private offices, dedicated desks, game areas, coworking spaces, meeting rooms and large conference rooms. The Design Lab portion of the space was created with flexibility in mind and can morph from separate, smaller rooms to larger rooms.

    It’s the first more centralized location for COhatch, whose growing list of coworking spaces have primarily been concentrated in the suburbs and surrounding cities, including Worthington, Upper Arlington, Polaris and Delaware. Locations are also slated to open in the next several months in Dublin and at Easton.

    Davis also sees the Gateway location introducing COhatch to a younger demographic. COhatch is planning additional programming, coursework and educational opportunities to bring in that younger audience whether they are affiliated with the university or not.

    Construction on COhatch at the Gateway is slated to begin in August, with an opening timeline of Q1 2021.

    For more information, visit cohatch.com.

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    Susan Post
    Susan Post
    Susan is the editor of The Metropreneur and associate editor of Columbus Underground, and also covers small business and entrepreneurial news and the food scene in Central Ohio.Susan holds a degree in Communication with a minor in Professional Writing from The Ohio State University. She sits on the board of the Central Ohio Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists and loves coffee, whiskey, cooking and spending time with friends and family.
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