CREJ

Page 12 — Office Properties Quarterly — December 2018 www.crej.com Blending the Generations Experts in Design Mixology Tenant Planning Services 1660 Lincoln St, Ste100, Denver, CO 80264 303.861.4800 l www.TPS.design Contact us to learn more T he way people work is chang- ing. Technology makes it possi- ble for people to be productive from almost anywhere and self-employment rates contin- ue to climb, making coworking spaces increasingly popular alternatives to the corporate cubicle or home office. And it’s big business. The more than $40 billion-valued industry behemoth, WeWork, just signed the lease on its eighth location in Denver, bringing its total footprint in the Mile High City to 592,600 square feet. Most of the loca- tions are centralized downtown, with two in the River North Arts District. When construction is complete on all of the leased spaces by mid-2020, WeWork will overtake DaVita as the largest private office user in Denver. But while the size and rapid growth of large operators is impressive, they are not the only ones to watch. In fact, boutique spaces that cater to niche markets are increasingly in demand. A growing trend in niche markets is the rise of female-focused spaces, which are making their mark on the industry, where community is a driv- ing force behind the member experi- ence. Spaces such as TheWing, The Riveter and Rise CollaborativeWork- space are surfacing throughout the country, from NewYork to St. Louis to Seattle. Rise Collaborative is beginning its national expansion with a new location in Denver in 2019. Opened two years ago, our St. Louis location already has more than 260 members ranging in age from 24 to 78, from the start-up entrepreneur to the CEO of a $500 million company. The Colorado location will be near the Cherry Creek neighborhood. Not only do these female-focused locations provide a space for women to work, but also they function as con- nective institutions, bringing like-mind- ed professional women together to network, collabo- rate, develop their careers and find community. With a history rooted in the tech industry and an emphasis on creat- ing a startup-friendly environment, coworking spaces often have been male dominated, even garnering the moniker “bro-working spaces” in some circles. However, there are 9.1 million woman-owned businesses nationwide, employing 7.9 million employees and generating $1.4 tril- lion in sales, according to the National Association of Women Business Owners. Specific to Denver, there are 88,000 women-owned businesses with no other employees.With traditional male-dominated spaces often falling short on providing a good fit for all members, the niche coworking mar- ket is stepping in. Female-focused niche operators use the coworking space as a way to help women overcome gender-specific bar- riers and close a range of professional, entrepreneurial and personal gaps. Despite the fact that women are more likely to start their own businesses than men, women receive less fund- ing. As a result, many female entre- preneurs have expressed a need for specific mentorship and advice – from other women with whom they can identify who have been through the process. Female entrepreneurs aren’t the only members using these spaces for this type of connection and mentorship. With a remote workforce becoming more prominent, the trend of cowork- ing is bleeding into corporate America as well. Female employees across industries are identifying a unique set of needs as they enter the cowork- ing world. Female-focused coworking spaces are addressing these needs through providing a range of work- shops, setting up intentional mentor- ships, and connecting members across industries and sectors. Providing female employees mem- berships to spaces like these helps support the development and camara- derie many modern working women are looking for. And with an unem- ployment rate of 2.4 percent in Den- ver, finding ways to make the work experience more attractive to female employees is a high priority for busi- ness owners struggling to find work- ers. Female-focused spaces work to address the specific needs of this group of employees. Other niche coworking communities follow the same roadmap to support their mar- kets. There are coworking spaces to specifically support creatives, the wellness-oriented, LGBTQ profession- als and the construction industry. Mul- tiple sources indicate that the niche trend is on track to continue, with professionals craving community and connection just as much as their bot- tomless coffee andWi-Fi. This overall process of market specification is significant, and bears important implications for real estate developers. According to a 2018 survey by the Global Coworking Unconfer- ence Conference, the largest cowork- ing conference series in the world, 68 percent of coworking spaces in the U.S. lease or rent their location. This means that real estate developers stand to benefit from this shift in the office space market. V Female-focused spaces fill needed coworking niche Coworking Stacy Taubman CEO, Rise Collaborative Workspace A growing trend in niche markets is the rise of female-focused spaces, which are making their mark on the industry, where community is a driving force behind the member experience.