City of Greene issued the following announcement on June 25.
A Des Moines entrepreneur who operates increasingly popular coworking spaces is planning the development of one in Jefferson, a move that would make the Greene County seat one of the smaller communities in Iowa to feature such a modern work environment.
The Jefferson city council June 9 heard a proposal from local economic-development leader Chris Deal and Geoff Wood, Des Moines-based Gravitate Coworking owner and founder, for Gravitate to lease the city-owned building at 202 E. State St., between the current home of Heartland Bank on the corner of State and Chestnut and the renovated building to the east that houses Accenture’s software-development branch, The Forge, for a coworking space.
“Everything is moving ahead right now,” Deal said. “The city has been fantastic to work with.”
The Gravitate Jefferson location could be open as soon as September, Deal said, adding that 20 to 25 people could work from the location.
The goal: give local businesses and entrepreneurs a central location to work while recruiting people from cities.
“There is a lot of opportunity coming up on the backside of COVID-19,” Deal said. “Urban areas are anything but calm.”
Nearly 40 people turned out last summer at the Thomas Jefferson Gardens Welcome Center to hear Wood present plans on a possible coworking space for Jefferson.
“You are a good potential member for us if your laptop is your primary work tool,” Wood said.
Gravitate launched in Des Moines in 2013 and now has three coworking locations in Iowa’s capital city region: downtown, West Des Moines and Valley Junction. There are about 40 coworking spots in Iowa, most of them in urban areas.
So what is coworking? The Gravitate model includes space for smaller offices, meeting rooms, kitchen area and conference rooms along with desks and seating areas for individuals businesspeople, entrepreneurs, students and remote workers.
Coworking allows startups to get into a profes- sional setting and people who work from home to find a community and collaborative working envi- ronment that allows for work-life separation while fostering creativity.
The company brings in modern office furniture to create a look similar to what people would find in Silicon Valley tech companies.
Deal, who has worked for well over a year to interest Gravitate in starting a Jefferson location, says research shows that peo- ple doing business from coworking spaces are happier and often more productive than those who work from home or in a traditional office or busi- ness environment.
“A lot of this is really based on people being encouraged to really do things that are outside of the box,” Deal said.
Wood, a Cedar Rapids native who has been involved in the Iowa startup community for a de- cade, toured a number of potential spaces for a co- working hub in Jefferson.
“The market that hasn’t been cracked is places like Jefferson,” Wood said.
Rates would depend on demand as well.
For more information, or to express interest in seeing a coworking space in Jefferson, visit gravitate- coworking.com, call 515- 207-8105 or email Wood’s team at heythere@gravitatecoworking.com.
Wood said he is impressed by development activity taking place in Jefferson, and thinks the coworking space would be a good fit for continuing progress.
The council expressed interest in the concept, and agreed to work on terms of a two-year lease for Gravitate. Final approval was tabled pending completion of a lease agreement and arriving at a price for the lease.
The Greene County Development Corp. last week approved a $15,000 grant for the Gravitate co-working plan. Also, in connection with the Gravitate project, the council agreed to a pro- posal from Deal and Wood to have the city apply for a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) from the state to assist development of second-story apartment living in Jefferson’s downtown area.
The CDBG would be available for up to seven second-story apartments downtown.
In order to help the application score well, Deal and Wood proposed the renovation of the second story of the Gravitate building and also the second story of the John’s Appliance building on the west side of the Square. They said they are working with the owner of a third downtown building as well.
The Iowa Economic Development Authority is responsible for awarding CDBG funds, with the money coming from the federal government. Tax increment financing (TIF) is already in place for the Gravitate building, and it could apply to the John’s Appliance building as well.
The projects are being assisted by Region XII Council of Governments. Deal and Wood explained that the Gravitate coworking space project is separate from the secondfloor housing concept, and would take place whether the CDBG housing grant is received or not.
If the grant application is successful and housing funds are awarded, then a small private corporation would offer to buy the Gravitate building from the city. Deal is not involved per- sonally in Gravitate’s co-working operations, but could be an investor in housing associated with it.
Courtesy of www.beeherald.com
For more information contact:
Ken Paxton
Greene County Develolpment Corporation
ken@greenecountyiowa.com
515-386-8255
Original source: https://www.greenecountyiowa.org/gccd-development-news.php#!/Detail/id:36
Alerts Sign-up