CROWN HEIGHTS — In response to “overwhelming” demand, a local co-working space is more than doubling its business with a larger second location on Franklin Avenue set to open this fall, its owner said this week.
The new co-working spot, Work and Co., will open Nov. 1 at 650 Franklin Ave. between St. Marks Avenue and Bergen Street, about two blocks from the company’s original location, Dean Machine, an eight-desk shared office that opened last year at 1037 Dean St. near Franklin Avenue.
The second location will have 20 cubicles, rented at $425 a month with 24-hour access, and communal tables and work spaces that cost between $225 and $325 a month, depending on usage, said Work and Co.’s owner Sam Strauss-Malcolm.
Since opening Dean Machine last summer as something of an experiment, Strauss-Malcolm says he’s been inundated with requests from potential customers.
“The response has been a bit overwhelming,” he said. “My waiting list is up to, I think, 87 people. And no one wants to move out of Dean Machine. So, I just said, ‘I’ll open a second space.’”
The new office will have a full kitchen, event space, phone booths and two conference rooms, he said. Additionally, renters at either co-working space will have access to both locations.
“If it’s busy or loud in one, you can just walk the block and a half to the other,” he said.
Strauss-Malcolm, who works in fashion design in addition to running Work and Co., said he’s noticed an uptick in demand for individual office space in Crown Heights recently, created, in his experience, by many first-time parents and freelancers who have moved to the area recently.
“More people are looking for a place to work in their neighborhoods and they’re not interested in commuting to the city anymore,” he said.
“This neighborhood is growing into a real freelancer’s hub,” he added.
The new Work and Co. space is currently being renovated; tours will begin in October. For more information or to sign up for updates, visit the company’s site at workandco.works.
