Boasting move-in ready offices for startups and long-standing businesses alike, Blue Back Square’s Spaces opened a few weeks ago to a few tenants with more expected to fill vacant offices by Monday, the business’s area manager said last week.
The roughly 30,000-square-foot, high-ceiling, modern space spans two floors on Raymond Road, where REI had previously been located. A first-floor lounge includes booths, high-top tables, sofas and smart TVs, with additional mixed-size offices on the second floor. In the next month, Spaces will have an in-house barista, too. Tenants can rent bikes or use the common space to play table-top shuffleboard or board games.
Spaces and Hartford’s Serendipity Labs join the rise of coworking environments across Connecticut, capitalizing on a national trend seen across the country.
Offices range in size from one-person to a 30-person space with frosted glass fronts and contemporary furniture, Spaces area manager Jonathan Celentano said, as well as internet and printer setup. Spaces offers different products for those who may be starting a business or for a business that needs temporary space while a home office is being renovated. Celentano said by Monday, nearly 65 percent of the space will be leased.
Memberships range from $133 to $500 a month, meeting rooms range from $80 to $130 an hour, and offices from $450 to $900. Members have 24/7 access to the building, and central staff team is available to accept mail and greet guests.
Celentano said current tenants, or members, range from environmental consultants to financial advisers and furniture distributors to media marketing.
“It’s a melting pot of businesses,” Celentano said.
Independent business owner Joe Collete was working from his Manchester home until Spaces opened. His nearly five-month old business — Last Stop Solar — spans 29 states, and with a young child at home, Collete said it became difficult to work there. Even though Spaces was outside Collete and his friend’s budget, the benefits of a Spaces membership were “twice more than what we expected,” he said.
“If you’re in the beginning stages of your business and you’re considering taking that leap and you’re able to swing it, I’d do it,” Collete said.
Collete said his business’s new zip code in West Hartford has brought a bump to his customer base, giving his business credibility.
Mark Stewart Greenstein, a local businessman and perennial political candidate, said he signed up for a one-year lease at his 56-square-foot office. He wanted his two businesses to have a presence in Blue Back Square, he said.
Greenstein said he uses the new office space to book clients for Ivy Bound, a 19-year-old program he founded to offer SAT prep and college admission seminars for parents, as well as to launch a new endeavor he’s co-founded called Aspire Academy, which will offer classes for middle school students like astronomy and “Adulting 101? during the upcoming April vacation.
“All I need is a phone and a desk. I work solo, so this is very good,” Greenstein said.
Greenstein said he learned about the business from Morgan Hilyard, former associate director of the West Hartford Chamber of Commerce, and “immediately signed up on the spot.”
“It seems like this is going to be a good urban business hub,” Greenstein said. “It’s a nice space. My thoughts are: West Hartford is vibrant, and I want to be part of it.”
Janice Gucciardi, who owns Jabberhead social media agency, said as her business grew it was time to find a space outside of her home. She’s signed up for a yearlong membership.
“It’s centrally located, it’s a great area and I get to meet and network with a lot of people here,” Gucciardi said. “The parking is convenient, there’s a kitchen, the tech is set up and the office is fully furnished. … It’s a fully secure building, and there’s people at the front desk if the business needs a front desk. It’s conveniently located with access to the highways.”
Celentano said Spaces has partnered with Blue Back Square and West Hartford Center businesses to offer a benefits card, with discounts available to places like Skeleton Key, Vinted, Daswani Clothiers and World of Beer, among others. Spaces will host two to three networking events a week, as well.
“I want them to feel at home. I want them to be at work and have this space make them want to come to work,” Celentano said.
“Flexibility is the biggest thing for us. Not many people can offer that.”
Mikaela Porter can be reached at mmporter@courant.com.
