Co-working office spaces in Worcester provide flexibility, community for entrepreneurs

WORCESTER — By last December, Timothy Hally and his business partner Justin Matsen were approaching their three-year mark on their creative agency Munq, a branding and marketing business.

The duo had started their venture during the pandemic, navigating in their early 20s a fresh business from home.

However, as Munq grew, Hally said that working in the same space with his partner was starting to become something necessary, prompting them to look for a space they could continue to build their business but also afford.

Standing by the door of his two-person office on the fourth floor at 100 Front St., Hally, 27, of Shrewsbury said that renting a space smaller — much smaller — than a classic floor for their business was the way to do it.

“We really felt cooped up at home,” said Hally. “We felt there's a lack of collaboration.

“We live close to each other, so we could go to each other's homes, but we needed a space where collaboration was possible.”

One of the marks that the COVID-19 pandemic left behind was undeniably the advent of remote or hybrid work that even four years later 59% of remote workers consider it a better work style due to benefits of work/life balance, according to a USA Today Blueprint survey.

Around 22 million employed adults 18 and over in the U.S. work from home all the time, equal to roughly 14% of all employed adults, according to the Pew Research Center.

Of that, 34% of remote workers have been found to express a feeling of isolation and 25% lament having fewer opportunities to learn from others at work, according to the USA Today Blueprint survey.

The Munq duo of Hally and Matsen, fit the 14% portion of remote workers who have seen a drop in collaboration with their teams from not being in the same space.

“You cannot put a price on in-person communication,” said Hally. “There's nothing that a digital experience can replicate in that way.”

The two-person office, where Hally and Matsen direct Munq with the DCU Center and St. Vincent Hospital in the skyline, is one of about 63 office spaces available for rent under Venture X, a co-working space that subleases out office spaces that range from one-person to multidesk spaces.

Venture X’s business model is a trend that seems to cater to exactly those who seek in-person work and are either just getting started or are in transition from remote work.

On a tour through the hallways of many glass doors that open to 63 office spaces, Nicole Wolanski, who co-founded Venture X Worcester alongside her husband, Brandon, said the inspiration for the business was very organic.

“It was born out of a need,” said Wolanski. “We were home with three kids, I didn’t want to work in our house all the time, we needed to get out.

“We wanted to work hybrid, but we wanted a place where we could go and have a community atmosphere and culture.”

The Wolanskis signed a 10-year lease for Venture X at the Mercantile Center at 100 Front St., as a franchise of Florida-based Venture X.

Opening in January, Wolanski said she hopes this model expands further in the future into other locations, as she sees a need in the community for co-working spaces.

In other instances, already established organizations and businesses use the co-working spaces for satellite locations that are far from the headquarters, as is the case with EforAll, a nonprofit organization that helps businesses start and grow a business through intensive business training and mentorship.

With well-established locations across the state, the Worcester location was created in 2020, most recently taking up an office at Venture X, which is shared as needed between the executive director, program managers and coordinators.

“Even though the pandemic was four years ago, we're already changing back,” said Jose Castro, executive director of EforAll Greater Worcester. “And now it's a whole different lifestyle where we're working in a hybrid environment.

“That's how jobs are being created and how people are actually working.”

Castro said working in a co-working space, where other businesses are right next door, has created “an ecosystem” of connections, something that is different from the models of the past where a single business would take up a whole floor or building.

And renters can style them as they'd like, with wall art, couches and coffee tables placed right behind working desks, as much as a working space from 67 to 315 square feet.

While office spaces are rented out on a monthly basis, some conference rooms can be rented by the hour, according to Wolanski.

“This was a perfect fit for us specifically because entrepreneurs can find resources within this space itself,” Castro said. “Where we are, they feel supported.”

Tim Murray, president and CEO of the Worcester Chamber of Commerce, acknowledged the trend of co-working spaces being on the rise in the city, citing among other benefits the cost-saving aspect of renting spaces as needed.

“I do think there’s a place for this, especially for companies looking to scale up,” said Murray. "At the same time, large companies are looking to plant a flag in a community, which we’ve seen a lot of in recent years since the pandemic.”

While other locations in the city have a fresher face in the city, WorcLab has been in the city since 2010, first starting out remotely and then settling off Portland Street, a few steps down the street from Worcester Commons.

The nonprofit, which has a focus in coming to the aid of startup entrepreneurs, is found on the fourth floor of the Printers Building at 44 Portland St.

Through the wooded flooring and office door frames, typical of a multiple decades-old building, WorcLab has renovated the space to fit the needs of co-working spaces, but also a prototyping lab and electronics lab for startups or anyone looking to design their first products.

Tyler Ojala, the community manager at WorcLab, said that among other tools, such as 3D printers, WorcLab makes available a pick-and-place machine that is used toward the production of prototypes needing circuit boards.

“Since the COVID-19 pandemic we have seen more companies wanting to join, consistently rising,” said Ojala, “and the businesses that we have here are pretty diverse.”

Spaces that WorcLab uses include seven office spaces that range from one-person to conference rooms, all within the bones of the Printers Building.

Other renovation efforts include the transformation of spacious bathrooms into office spaces where executive directors, program managers and other company employees can be seen walking about with a coffee cup in hand.

Three smaller closet spaces once used as telephone booths continue to serve their purpose, although instead of featuring a dial telephone on the wall, they are now shared spaces that one can use for the privacy and acoustic insulation demands of an official call, often through video calls.

This is in addition to a separate space with 10 desks, also made available as individually rentable work areas.

As on the tour labs were filled with entrepreneurs hard at work, Ojala said that businesses range from shirtmakers to skin-care product makers.

“The co-working space model is definitely booming,” said Ojala. “I have seen a lot more activity since COVID-19 with people wanting to just work remotely, of course, and they don't need to go in the office.

“In certain instances, they are stuck at home three or four days a week and they want to come in here because they want somewhere to work.”

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Co-working office spaces expanding in downtown Worcester