Editor’s Note: After the June/July 2023 issue of Evansville Business went to press, The Coworking Cottage announced it was closing Aug. 1.
Cowork Evansville launched in 2018 at Innovation Pointe, and in the February/March 2019 Evansville Business article โWork Together,โ โcoworkingโ still was a local buzzword. Having endured a pandemic in the time since, is the same still true?
When Frank Peterlin IV, owner of Market Realty, first got into what was called the โexecutive suiteโ business in 1996, large companies were interested in leasing an entire office. Todayโs market has expanded for individuals. Now, renting a desk for a day at a local coworking space can cost around $20, and monthly memberships for access to a conference room can go for more than $300. Peterlin, who now runs coworking and business service provider U.S. Incubator, notices more startups and freelancers using his leased spaces.
Lisa Kelsey Moore, who owns and operates The Foundry on Main at 100 N. Main St.,
says demand has exceeded expectations since opening in 2021. Most of the interest in her coworking space is from remote workers who travel and businesses needing to rent a communal workspace.
โThere is still a lot of community engagement needed to define what coworking is and how it can be helpful,โ says Elizabeth Alvarez, who opened Newburgh, Indianaโs Coworking Cottage at 117 Plum St. in 2021. โWith many businesses now requiring their teams to be back in the office, that is definitely going to impact us.โ
Cowork Evansville remains at Innovation Pointe, 318 Main St., and is run by the Evansville Regional Economic Partnership. On the residential side, coworking space comes as a perk for Post House tenants at 215 Vine St.
