Cowork Options In The Catskills & Hudson Valley
Posted by Coldwell Banker Village Green Realty on Monday, March 21st, 2022 at 1:51pm
Cowork Spaces In The Catskills & Hudson Valley
Here at Coldwell Banker Village Green Realty, we are always looking for ways to help our clients and new neighbors become acclimated to the Hudson Valley and Catskill region. We’re here to not only help you buy a home that will give will be the hub of your new lifestyle but also to aid you in figuring out how to put the pieces of that lifestyle together.
Moving to a new area is no small thing. On some level you’re starting over. One of the things that changes most is who you see on a regular basis. There’s a reasonable instinct to replace relationships you’ve left behind with new ones.
Nearly 50% of everyone who moves does it because of their careers. In the “old days”, that would mean you’d come into a new job, and there would be a ready-made group of potential friends and acquaintances. Even if you weren’t the sort to go out to nightspots, join clubs or play sports to meet others, your co-workers could provide be a mine of social opportunities that would help you build a new life.
But now about one-quarter of the work force works from home. And there have always been fields where no one ever goes to an office or workplace. For anyone who has moved to a new place and works from home—whether it’s because the office is closed or because their career doesn’t do offices or because their company wants less people at work—the point is the same. How do you make connections? Where do you go for a regular dose of humanity? Or to bounce creative ideas off someone?
What’s happened is what’s known as “cowork.” Coworking is about finding as much or as little socialization as you feel like participating in. As described by BeaHive, one of the pioneers in the field locally, cowork is a “movement in collaboration, where people work in a shared space, alone and together.” BeaHive opened their first space in Beacon—hence “Bea”Hive—in 2009. They’ve since opened spaces in Albany and Newburgh, where people, for their various reasons, work in a relatively temporary setting, focusing on their own work in the company of others doing the same.
View this post on Instagram
Working from home has its benefits, like wearing pajamas, but the novelty wears off, and you begin to long for a day that allows you to encounter the energy of other beings. Humans have a need for socialization, the proverbial joking around the water cooler. As Melanie Cozzolino, CoWork Kingston’s Community Manager, puts it, “Humans are innately social. Coworking gives them that experience: Chats in the kitchen, happy hours getting to know each other and meeting new friends. These are things people miss out on frequently when working virtually from home.”
Cozzolino offers these reasons for workers using this type of space: “(1) Need to separate themselves from the home and all the errands, dogs, kids and chores so they concentrate on work. (2) Need space from their partner who is also virtually working at home. (3) The Hudson Valley has areas of poor internet/cell service. (4) They moved up from NYC and then realized they were alone. Coworking gives them the opportunity to be near/social with others. (5) They need a space to work while their child is at school nearby.”
View this post on Instagram
Frequently using cowork spaces are creatives, people whose work doesn’t entail going into an office, such as designers, architects, artists and writers. What the cowork space gives these people is a conference room, for example, if they want to get together with clients or project team members. An artist will find a scanner when they have to send a drawing somewhere. Everyone reaps the benefit of a change of scene and people to talk to on a break.
Knowing people have varying reasons for coworking, different cowork spaces offer different benefits and amenities. At CO in Rhinebeck, the Desk Exchange program gives someone who volunteers for one eight-hour shift per week unlimited co-working time. At Epic in New Paltz they offer wellness rooms as well as office space. Barnfox members get discounted stays with their accommodation partners; their Livingston Manor space has a kombucha bar.
|
|
In Goshen at Co|LAB, workers get energized during breaks using the punching bag or a spin cycle or with coffee brewed three different ways. (They even have an on-site hive for honey!) NY Workspaces in Carmel and LaGrangeville can give you virtual office services, “to create a business presence that shows you are successful, buttoned up and ready to serve your customers.” Some spaces allow daily walk-ins; others prefer you to go through an on-boarding process. Some have receptionists and custodial services and will let you have your mail delivered there. All offer flexibility.
Many cowork spaces go beyond simply renting space and providing an infrastructure, equipment, Wi-Fi and coffee. They’re at the root of a revolution in business, gathering people in different trades in the same space to juggle ideas and shift thinking patterns. Many of them sponsor community events, everything from art exhibits to get-togethers where participants share thoughts on work issues, a mix of “an ad hoc advisory board and group therapy,” as they put it at BeaHive.
Coworks’ styles and décor differ greatly. CoWork is set in a loft-like industrial space in the Senate Garage. The Workplace Club in Middletown has a more traditional office set-up. There’s a koi pond garden at Co|LAB in Goshen. The first BeaHive, in Beacon’s 1907 telephone building, has a first-floor loft with exposed brick, maple floors, a soaring ceiling and large windows letting in light from south, east and west for coworkers and plants. At Purpose in the tiny town of Philmont along with office and kitchen space there’s access to 3D printers, electronic cutters, a CNC mill and music recording equipment; they also schedule crafts hang-outs for drawing, printing, painting, whittling, knitting, and sewing.
View this post on Instagram
The cost of using cowork spaces is as varied as their décor. For $350/month at Chatham Coworker you’re entitled to a dedicated 30x60" workspace, an ergonomic chair or standing desk, four hours per month in the “huddle room,” 24/7 access, lockable storage, Wi-Fi, use of a printer/copier/scanner, plus free coffee, tea and water. At Dream Worx in Warwick you can book a private meeting room for up to six people for $30/hour. If you need space for 20, rent their main loft space for $60/hour. Both come with Wi-Fi, a flat-screen TV and white board. Non-members can drop-in for the day for $20, buy six day-passes for $80 or 10 for $140. At Purpose they offer day passes for $25 and full-week passes for $100; if you sign up for a full membership, which is $150/month, there are requirements: three months commitment, one month cancellation notice and a volunteer job, such as cleaning, bookkeeping, carpentry or leading a class.
As Cozzolino sums up about CoWork, Kingston, “CoWorking is first and foremost a hospitality business. We provide a quiet, relaxing space with strong internet, drinks—coffee, tea, seltzer, etc.—and social gatherings. It is up to the [individual] to use the space as seen fit. Whether it be to socialize, work quietly or meet with clients, we leave the ‘why’ to them.”
Contact Us
Browse Catskills Real Estate:
The data relating to real estate for sale on this web site comes in part from the IDX Program of the GCMLS. Real estate listings held by brokerage firms other than [INSERT BROKER NAME] are marked with the IDX logo or the IDX thumbnail logo and detailed information about them includes the name of the listing brokers. The broker providing these data believes them to be correct, but advises interested parties to confirm them before relying on them in a purchase decision. © 2024 GCMLS. All rights reserved.
Leave A Comment