EDGEWATER — A new co-working space is opening on North Broadway next month that will provide conference rooms, copy services, a London-inspired private phone booth and personal meeting spaces for hourly rates, according to the Edgewater Chamber of Commerce.
EdgeWorx will open at 5505 N. Broadway, the same spot where its owner also houses Superior Spaces, an office interior design firm and furniture store, on Aug. 1.
At a ceremony Tuesday, Ald. Harry Osterman (48th), Katrina Balog, executive director at the Edgewater Chamber of Commerce and Owner Mike Bartelt were on hand to cut a ribbon outside the storefront for its opening.
"This is really awesome, this has been a long time coming," Bartelt said. "It's a great feeling."
Balog said her organization had gotten feedback from community members and other business owners that the demand for an on-demand workspace was there.
According to DNAinfo's data on the prevalence of working from home in each neighborhood, about 5.5 percent of workers 16 and over — or about 1,703 people — report using their homes as their primary offices.
"We know through a lot of our business owners that they see people who work from home who come through their business and in talking with their clientele [customers] are often talking about what the challenges are," Balog said. "So we as a chamber have been trying to reach out to people who work from home or are sole proprietors."
Bartelt said office spaces can be reserved by the hour. Two hours costs $10, four hours $17, and an eight-hour work day would cost $32, Bartelt said.
Individual desks with dimmable lights face outward to Broadway. [DNAinfo/Linze Rice]
For now, EdgeWorx expects to be open from 8 a.m.-6 p.m. weekdays, with the potential for weekend and after-hour availability using private key access, Bartelt said.
The business will be run by Bartelt side-by-side with Superior Spaces with at least 14 separate work areas, a kitchen, meeting rooms that can accommodate up to 20 people and various types of charging ports.
Balog also said EdgeWorx differs from The Writers WorkSpace, a place where writers can pay to work in a quiet atmosphere, down the block at 5443 N. Broadway.
"They're serving a niche population of people who are writers who need quiet space, they have very specific rules about how you use the space, which is kind of different than some of the co-working spaces that are programmed quite a bit and have room for a bit more collaboration," Balog said.
Bartelt, who has lived in Edgewater for the past 5½ years, said he loves operating in the "vibrant" neighborhood and used to do business on Bryn Mawr with Superior Spaces.
He named amenities like the close proximity to Brewyn and Bryn Mawr Red Line stations, as well as a growing Broadway economy, as reasons for packing up his downtown digs and making a home in the Far North.
"I love having my home and business in Edgewater, it's a great place," Bartelt said. "There's a lot of stuff going on here, it's just a great feeling."
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