Storefronts and apartment towers along a downtown Evanston street. Photo: Eric Fredericks from Rancho Cordova, CA, United States / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0
Freelancers, remote employees and early-stage founders in Evanston had at least four options in January 2014 for working somewhere other than a kitchen table or a corner coffee shop. Shared workspaces, which charge members fees for desks, meeting rooms and internet, had been spreading across the country, and Evanston had its share.
coLab
coLab was a members-only space with a 3,500-square-foot open floor plan. It offered month-to-month terms, 20 floater spots, 16 dedicated desks, two meeting rooms with whiteboards or screens, and event space for 20 to 50 people. Floater Lite passes started at $59 a month for one visit per week.
Creative Coworking
Creative Coworking served creative professionals, graduate students and entrepreneurs. Members chose between quiet zones and collaboration zones. Nonmembers could reserve the conference room or lounge by the hour, and occasional use started at $25 per visit.
Northwestern’s incubator and the Technology Innovation Center
The Northwestern University Incubator was supported by the Farley Center and the Kellogg Innovation and Entrepreneurship Initiative. It gave startup teams working space, a network of fellow entrepreneurs and mentorship. It was open to Northwestern students, faculty and alumni.
The Technology Innovation Center, a not-for-profit incubator, targeted very early stage technology companies. Its suites ranged from under 200 square feet to several thousand, and tenants could expand within their lease terms without paying for an option. Monthly leases were designed for companies whose needs changed fast. Office space started at $22 to $24 per gross square foot per year, roughly $1.90 per gross square foot per month.
Choosing a space
The options differ in purpose. coLab and Creative Coworking sell flexible desks to members. The Northwestern incubator is tied to the university community. The Technology Innovation Center works more like a landlord for young technology firms, and its rent is quoted per square foot, not per desk.
The prices and terms above are as listed in January 2014 and have likely changed since.
Daniel Okafor covers business, startups and the Innovators section for The Evanston Edge.
