January 29, 2016: An Exciting Moment for Start Fort Wayne
This Tuesday’s announcement of the development of Atrium by Start Fort Wayne is a major development in continued growth of entrepreneurship, startup, and small business activity in Fort Wayne. We at Living Fort Wayne have been keeping an eye on Start Fort Wayne for about six months, and we’ve been blown away by how quickly this nonprofit has grown from an idea to a small group of doers to a little bit larger group of shakers (see who they are).
So let’s get to the heart of the matter - Atrium, a new, world-class coworking facility being built in downtown Fort Wayne at 111 W. Berry Street. I sat down with Start Fort Wayne President Dave Sanders at a coffee shop next his first coworking space, CoWork Fort Wayne to get his take on what role Atrium will play in the community.
“We chose that name [Atrium], because it’s also part of the heart,” Sanders said.“It’s in the heart of Fort Wayne. It’s part of the heart of entrepreneurship in Fort Wayne.”
With a target completion date of October 2016, Atrium by Start Fort Wayne aims to be a place "for entrepreneurs, small businesses, students, and startups to work, collaborate, meet, and thrive." There will be three membership levels for coworking space users (check out the rates) and private office spaces for premium members.
Take a look at Atrium by Start Fort Wayne
Atrium is located in 5,500 square feet of space on the second floor the Hoch Associates Building. Hoch Associates will also serve as landlord and partner of Atrium, in addition to doing the design and architecture for the space. Here are some highlights of the space.
- Staffed check-in area
- Large conference and training room
- Two small conference rooms
- Stage
- Shared desks for general members
- Reserved desks for professional members
- Office spaces for premium members
- Casual area and kitchen
Check out the Start Fort Wayne website for more details on amenities, membership options, and more.
After Atrium
As nonprofit organization with an eye on the community, Start Fort Wayne wants to help entrepreneurs get educated and find the resources they need to build and grow their businesses in Fort Wayne.
"It's my personal goal, that over the course of two years, while we're getting this place to profitability, that those [office spaces] have turned over twice, at least," Sanders said.
After businesses outgrow Atrium, Sanders wants to help these businesses find a home and continue to grow their companies in downtown Fort Wayne.
"That's good for everybody downtown," Sanders said. "It adds more jobs. It adds growing companies downtown."
Get in touch and stay up-to-date
Website - startfortwayne.com
Email - contact@startfortwayne.com
Facebook page - facebook.com/startfortwayne
Facebook group - facebook.com/groups/StartFortWayne
Twitter - twitter.com/startfortwayne
Confused by the concept of coworking? Check out this video below to get a little taste of what the concept is all about.
