OpenSpace

It’s pretty cool to see months of hard work and research coming to fruition. We said we’ll be open by fall, and that’s still the case! A few highlights to share…

Construction
Construction is well under way. Martin Horn, Inc. and their expert team of sub-contractors have been in the space doing all of the framing, core-drilling, ceiling work, electrical and plumbing. As soon as that’s under wraps, they’ll begin all of the drywall. In the meantime, we have some pretty cool local vendors working on polygal panels, glasswork, carpet, paint and much more. Check out the latest Flickr album for construction photos: http://bit.ly/2iZBrT.

Furniture

We have researched extensively and traveled far to find just the right furniture to suit our space. We have over 6,000 square feet of completely open office space to outfit with furniture that encourages work and collaboration. And we found the perfect 8’ x 5’ tables! Think expansive work area with  integrated power. We’re also going to showcase some cool Steelcase products that encourage creative, comfortable collaboration. We’ll also have several conferencing options, including a large conference room that seats 14-16, bar height collaborative areas with dual LCD screens for workpairing, and low casual seating for brainstorming. More to come, but we’ll be ready to take reservations on these rooms as soon as the sign-up process is finalized.

Registration
The website and registration process are currently being finalized and we aim to have both up and live by the end of the month.

User Survey
There are plenty of details to work out during the last couple of months. We’re relying on our local friends and community to help provide feedback on important details like scheduling and hours. Look for a survey to be sent out in the next couple of weeks. This survey will enable you to provide us with all of your ideas about OpenSpace and how it will best work for you.

Wow Charlottesville! The response and interest in the space has been completely overwhelming. We’ve not even open and the sense of the OpenSpace community is growing stronger every day. We’ve networked, we’ve presented, we’ve Facebooked, we’ve Tweeted. We want you all to know that every inquiry, every word-of-mouth recommendation, every friend, and every advocate has been much appreciated. It’s because of all of you that OpenSpace is going to be such a collaborative success.

Wow Charlottesville! The response and interest in the space has been completely overwhelming. We’ve not even opened and yet the sense of the OpenSpace community is stronger than ever. We’ve networked, we’ve presented, we’ve Facebooked, we’ve Tweeted…and know that every inquiry, every word of mouth recommendation, every friend, every advocate, and every other show of support has been much appreciated. It’s because of all of you that OpenSpace is going to be such a collaborative success.

With that said, we’re still looking forward to a late summer opening, but will have some very important news to share on early registration coming up next week!

Thanks to everyone who came out last night! A tour and Q&A at the new building included a 3-D modeling of the new space provided by Jeff Bushman and Natalie Feaver of Bushman Dreyfus Architects. We concluded with drinks and hors d’oeuvres at the X-Lounge, just a quick walk down the street. Click here for photos of the event.

With construction just about to begin in the space, it’s exciting to imagine what we’ll be doing in the fall. With an autumn opening, we’re hoping the space will be buzzing with Charlottesville’s finest professionals!

So, the next biggest announcement is soon to come. We’re finalizing  options for both the memberships and conference room spaces and hope to announce both pricing and sign-up within the month.

In the meantime, we’ll see you at all the local gatherings in the coming months: TweetUps, First Wednesdays, beCamp, CBIC Awards and AMA.

Wow! Thanks for the overwhelming interest in OpenSpace so far. A few months to go, and it sounds like we’re going to have a very fun, diverse group circling through the space. Construction has begun in the building already and it looks like we’ll be ready to open our doors early fall. We’ll be sending out invites for the grand opening once we have more details, so if you haven’t already submitted an inquiry, be sure to either submit a form request or contact hello@openspacecoworking.com.

We had the pleasure of meeting up with Dave Norris, Mayor of Charlottesville, last week and had a great discussion on increasing business “across the train tracks”. There are some really cool new businesses popping up in the Warehouse District, still in easy walking distance to the mall.

Back from Merchandise Mart in Chicago, and while our feet are still hurting, our minds are overflowing with furniture options! If you think you’ve seen a furniture showroom, I challenge you to visit the Merchandise Mart and tell us otherwise. It’s 4.2 million gross square feet, spanning two city blocks with 25 stories (three of which offer commercial furniture), with hundreds of showrooms. Visiting fourteen of them took up a solid day and a half.

We visited Steelcase, Turnstone, Vitra, Coalesse, Global, Tuohy, Fixtures, Izzy Design, Harter, Nucraft, Creative Wood, Davis, National and DIRTT.

Also managed to stop off and visit new friends at Workspring, a very cool high-tech meeting and conference spot in the River North neighborhood of Chicago.

Now on to the hard part…decisions, decisions, decisions!

It’s official. OpenSpace will be opening its doors to Charlottesville in October 2009! We’re currently taking advice, fostering discussion, encouraging interaction, and of course, accepting reservations. We’ll have a total of 31 workstations, complete with access to conference rooms, collaborative spaces, lounges, and kitchen.

OpenSpace will have a relaxed, casual yet professional environment for every business occasion.

* Need to get out of your home office and into the company of like-minded colleagues?
* Need some downtime to brainstorm on a pressing campaign?
* Need space to hold a professional meeting or interview?
* Need to get your entire team out of the office for an idea generating session?
* Need a spot to hold an after-hours business happy hour or group meeting?
OpenSpace is your Room to Work!

We hosted our first brown bag session this afternoon to discuss pricing models and OpenSpace feature must-haves. It’s compelling to get ideas and feedback from local Charlottesville professionals. Thanks to everyone involved in today’s session!