via email:
I’ve heard people mention on occasion a desire for co-working space in Crozet. As an entrepreneur who has spent most of the last 13 years working from home, I get that. For a variety of reasons, I’m considering getting a nice office space in or around Old Trail in 2019. This office space is likely to be bigger than I need at first, and so I’m wondering how serious people are about wanting co-working in Crozet?
To be clear, my thought is not to start a true co-working space in the traditional sense. My assumption is that Crozet is not big enough yet to support that, but you can try to prove me wrong. Instead, I’m just thinking it would be nice to have an open space office with a little bit of private spaces built in and nice views of the mountains. My business could use it, but there’s not many of us here at the moment and so I would consider subleasing desks to others until my business grows more.
For anyone who’s interested, consider this a survey. Contact me at [email protected] and answer these questions:
1) How often would you use a co working space in Crozet?
2) What would you use it for? Do you need a closed room or prefer an open space area? Or what combination of both?
3) What would you expect to pay for that?
You can assume this place would not exist until middle of 2019, so please project your answers to what your future self truly needs and would pay for.
At this point, this is just an idea, there are no plans drawn up or commitments made, but this is a useful exercise since the answers to a survey like this could affect paths my company takes in the coming months.
Thanks!
Arin
Arin I think you might be surprised at the, closeted/pent up, demand for such a resource here in Crozet. This is not a wheel that needs reinventing. The couple that own the Mudhouse, (the Lawrences), opened a smart room at their C-ville mall location over a decade ago. I would also point out that most real estate offices are essentially a “shared work space”, though Jim could speak to that better than I can and too beauty salons often make stations or chairs available to freelancers. In more urban areas it seems to be a growing option. I think there are more people than you might think prepared to pay hourly or by subscription for access to a modern well appointed space with access to the best telecommunication available. I wouldn’t be surprised to find a market prepared to “reverse commute” from C-ville to Crozet for access to such a space, escaping the problems and higher prices demanded by a more congested, competitive urban environment. Perhaps a small group of like minded folks could get together to defray the start up and operating expenses to meet their own needs and provide a service to others.
I do believe such a model can also encourage increased productivity and creativity by providing a crucible where the “cross pollination” of ideas is facilitated. I think a good idea whose time is perhaps at hand.