Will, Can you share what type of space you went to instead? Or did you not go into opening a space?
On Friday, March 24, 2017 at 2:30:23 PM UTC-4, Will Bennis, Locus Workspace wrote: > > I didn't end up doing it, so can't report anything useful. :) > > On Friday, March 24, 2017 at 6:35:29 PM UTC+1, Patricia Spicuzza wrote: >> >> Hey Will, >> I was just looking for an update on this, particularly in light of the >> retail apocalypse happening now. >> >> What's the word? >> >> Patricia >> >> On Wednesday, October 22, 2014 at 6:15:05 AM UTC-4, Will Bennis, Locus >> Workspace wrote: >>> >>> Hi All, >>> >>> Recently a shopping mall realtor approached me about opening a coworking >>> space in their closed gaming zone/internet cafe. I'd love to hear opinions >>> about this, pros and cons. Before you completely ignore this post as coming >>> from someone who is clearly not from the same coworking planet, here is why >>> I'm even considering it: >>> >>> (1) *With respect to the fact that mall real estate goes for a premium: >>> *At least where I am, a lot of shopping malls are trying to build in >>> community/space quality features that make going to the mall (which lets >>> face it, most people in urban areas sometimes do) a more human experience: >>> space-taking areas like open art galleries, free indoor playgrounds, >>> exhibition space, gardens, etc. These spaces add value/traffic to the mall >>> as a whole, making the rentable space more valuable. This means that the >>> mall owner may be willing to partially fund a coworking space if it adds >>> value to the mall as a whole. >>> >>> (2) *With regard to the importance of community and quality of the work >>> environment: *Sure, malls are horrific. But they're also a reality. >>> Wouldn't creating coworking spaces in the horrific reality of a shopping >>> mall make malls a little less horrific? To the extent you could contribute >>> to the reinvention of malls as more human, community-focused spaces, >>> wouldn't it be a good thing to promote the development of a coworking space >>> in a mall? >>> >>> (3) *With respect to the objection that it wouldn't be sustainable; the >>> kind of people drawn to coworking would not want to do it in a mall: *The >>> malls where I am right now have many fast food restaurants (McDonalds, KFC, >>> etc.) with free bad wifi and people working away on their laptops or in >>> business meetings, or higher end cafes where laptop workers aren't as >>> welcome and places to work aren't comfortable or well suited for meaningful >>> work or quality meetings. I would guess many of the people who work in the >>> area or who are just there while their partners are shopping or their kids >>> are at the movies would love a more human space to work. Yes, they're not >>> the people traditionally drawn to coworking, but is there room for >>> something in between? >>> >>> My big question I guess is whether there would be a way to do this that >>> would create more than the equivalent of a hotel "business center" or an >>> internet cafe? Would there value or demand for a community-focused >>> workspace in a mall? >>> >>> Clearly this couldn't be an ideal community-focused and community-driven >>> coworking space. But is there room for something between the ideal and the >>> "business center" in a shopping mall (or airport or highway >>> gas-station/restaurant off-ramp for that matter)? Something that would help >>> build the sense of community and humanity in these largely community-less >>> spaces? Could it bear the *coworking *name? >>> >>> I'd love to hear your thoughts on this. >>> >>> Best, >>> Will >>> >> -- Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Coworking" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
