Another historical structure has found new life at the hands of COhatch. The coworking, office and community space has opened its third Central Ohio location, “The Newsstand,” at 18 E. William St. in Downtown Delaware in the former Gazette building.
It’s the largest COhatch location to date at 9,400 square feet and features nods to the building’s news history. The goal to create shared work, social, and family spaces that’s at the core of COhatch’s model is evident through the variety of environments at The Newsstand. The location features 20 private offices, 12 dedicated desks, seven meeting rooms and ample space for open coworking. An outdoor patio welcomes guests to the building, while the basement holds a 30-person theater and a game room.
“Our goal was to retain the charm and architectural beauty of the original building and to update it for the next 50 years and I think we’ve done that and so much more,” says COhatch Founder Matt Davis. “The local community now has a centerpiece to attract new business, grow local small businesses and live life in the center of town. We are seeing strong demand from unique firms, freelancers, attorneys, and real-estate agents that love the space and enjoy the flexibility it offers for meetings and work. ”
COhatch built out the space in partnership with the city of Delaware. COhatch will lease the space for 10 years, with the City investing up to $1.18 million to bring the first floor and basement to a ‘vanilla box’ state, with a 15-year tax abatement.
Davis sees a future in COhatch partnering with cities. The company fields many requests from cities looking for an accelerator, incubator or coworking space, often finding limited success when it’s a city-run enterprise. Davis wants COhatch to help these cities find the local advocates and entrepreneurs and teach them how to create a community space; a space the city can anchor itself in.
“At the heart of what we’re doing is we’re trying to improve people’s lives and improve cities,” Davis says.
The Newsstand is gaining traction in the Delaware community. Officially opening February 1, there has already been a high demand for meeting and coworking space. Davis says shared office is a new concept for the community, but spots are booking up and he hopes to be closer to capacity in the next 90 days.
Davis also says he’s seeing an almost “role reversal” – businesses from the heart of Downtown Columbus are interested in exploring Delaware. There’s even a strong national interest in Delaware’s thriving community. The city was named a top 100 place to live in the U.S. according to MONEY magazine in 2017. It is also one of the fastest growing counties in the county.
The Newsstand is just the first opening of the year for COhatch, with three more locations – in Upper Arlington, Polaris and Springfield – set to follow in 2019.
For more information, visit cohatch.com.
