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    First Look: Versa Now Open in the Arena District

    Twelve thousand square feet of coworking space has arrived in the Arena District. Versa opened its second location at 305 W. Nationwide Blvd. earlier this fall.

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    Filling in the former home of Columbus Business First, the addition of a mezzanine created extra square footage, and took advantage of the large windows that line the front of the building. Natural light is a key feature of the space, which also includes plenty of exposed brick and a design that brings together modern and found elements.

    Versa Arena District offers two options for its members: open coworking and private offices. Office suites can accommodate solopreneurs to teams of eight, while soft seating and various tables throughout the ground floor and mezzanine welcome coworkers. The space is also designed for future growth. The offices are structured with movable wall systems to provide as-needed flexibility. Four conference rooms, huddle rooms, quite rooms for phone calls and a kitchenette round out the space.

    The new location joins the 37,000 square foot Versa Grandview which opened in early 2018 at 1201 Dublin Rd. Experience gained during round one helped shape round two say owners, real estate developers and husband-and-wife team Kyle and April Katz.

    Triple the size, the Grandview location offers more conference and event space, which is accessible to members of either office.

    “Having the two of them, we didn’t necessarily have to replicate every single amenity in each space,” April says.

    A coworker might only lease 100 square feet of space for their desk, but April wants them to feel like the total square footage of both Versas is their office. She noticed a pattern in members going between spaces – for folks with dedicated offices, location is the biggest driver, while individuals opting for the flexibility of open coworking are more likely to go back and forth.

    Versa’s membership has seen a wide range of professionals, from lawyers and realtors, to marketing, HR and software companies.

    “It’s incredible the different array of people that come, which is great also because they can feed off of each other,” Kyle says.

    More and more business and individuals are gravitating towards the flexibility of coworking. Kyle says it’s still a relatively unknown industry in Columbus, but the number of new spaces entering the market is helping to drive awareness.

    Versa lends to that awareness by the usage of the conference and events spaces at the Grandview location. Once people are through the doors and in the space, they’re intrigued. They come, and they want to stay.

    Versa has opened two locations in under a year, and they’ll continue to grow. An originally slated Clintonville location has been nixed in favor of finding a larger footprint. Kyle says there are no definitives for the next location yet, but they are always look for opportunities.

    For more information, visit versa.works. 

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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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