CO+HOOTS, the only shared workspace in the downtown area that caters to small businesses, is relocating to accommodate growth, which “is a good problem to have,” manager Ross Loftin said.
They will move into a temporary location Aug. 5 that is next door to their permanent location at 10th and Washington streets. There is no expected down time, Loftin said, because they’re already slowly moving into the temporary location.
By October, CO+HOOTS will move into its new home next to the light-rail stop at 12th and Washington streets. The newly remodeled building used to be a garage and warehouse, he said.
“We’re still going to be part of downtown. That’s part of our identity,” Loftin said.
CO+HOOTS’s new building will allow for more members by providing more workspace, conference rooms and separate working areas, and it will include private offices, he said.
There’s also room for what may become a retail space, like a coffee shop, Loftin said.
From the members Loftin has spoken to so far, the coworking space isn’t expecting to lose anyone who currently uses their building, and he said CO+HOOTS actually has more businesses lined up to use the space.
The new location is in what’s been called Washington Row, or the entrepreneurial corridor, because there are two other entrepreneurial businesses along the light rail — Seed Spot and the Center for Entrepreneurial Innovation at Gateway Community College.
“The more you can get in a concentrated area, the better for the entrepreneurial ecosystem,” Seed Spot co-founder Chris Petroff said.
Petroff thinks it’s good thing to have Seed Spot, a place that helps entrepreneurs start their business, and CO+HOOTS close to each other because after someone leaves Seed Spot, they can have a place to work at CO+HOOTS. Seed Spot is located one light-rail stop away at 24th and Washington streets.
Seed Spot has been collaborating with CO+HOOTS for about six months, Petroff said.
Loftin said CO+HOOTS has a good relationship with the other businesses along Washington Row.
“A lot of stuff is going on in that area,” Loftin said, “We’re trying to ingrain ourselves in that area.”
Contact the reporter at mlongdon@asu.edu
Update: July 26, 2012
CO+HOOTS announced in a press release Thursday that rather than moving next door during its transition to Washington Row, it will move to the MonOrchid building on Roosevelt Row from Aug. 9 to Oct. 1.
