While many of us have gotten used to working from our home offices or couches, 2021 will be the year that many professionals return to office spaces for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. As COVID-19 cases and restrictions both start to ease, companies will decide whether to let employees back into the office. But we’ll also see the return of co-working spaces for professionals without dedicated office spaces.
For Firmspace, this is already starting to happen. The Austin-based real estate firm just announced that it’ll be opening its Chicago coworking space at 145 S. Wells St. later this month. Firmspace Chicago will be open to select members starting May 10, with a full opening on May 24.
Firmspace advertises its space as a “proworking” space. While typical coworking spaces have open office layouts and place an emphasis on communal amenities in order to give that startup-y feel, Firmspace is more focused on catering to the individuals who want privacy and a distraction-free environment.
Firmspace Chicago’s offices include things like floor-to-ceiling walls, privacy glass, sound-masking speakers and sound-absorbing ceilings. Firmspace doesn’t offer communal tables, instead it gives members their own private offices that only they use. There’s also an emphasis on security, with a secure private VLAN network for each office, card-key access to the facilities and 24/7 security surveillance.
“Much of Chicago has been working from home during the pandemic, but many professionals have found that there are too many distractions that come with that way of working,” Firmspace CEO Anish Michael said in a statement. “We’re confident that Firmspace helps these professionals jumpstart their careers and maximize productivity in the office, with the privacy and security that defines our proworking model.”
Firmspace Chicago also comes with the amenities you’d expect from a quality coworking space: high-speed fiber internet, adjustable desks, an on-site gym with showers, parking and bike racks. The space also has a rooftop garden and bar area, a golf simulator, a dedicated portal app and more.
Firmspace Chicago occupies the top three office floors of the building. While Firmspace members can rent a private office, the 17th floor of the building has enough space to fit a large company, with 91 desks and 55 private offices.
Membership for a private office starts at $549 per month, while a two-to-five-person office costs $799 and up.
Firmspace also says that its office setup is equipped for COVID-19 safety protocols and meets CDC recommendations. Its private offices allow for social distancing and communal areas are frequently sanitized. It also requires that face masks be worn in communal areas for the time being.
Commercial real estate firm JLL helped broker the Firmspace Chicago transaction.
“We’ve seen the popularity of hybrid work explode during the COVID-19 pandemic, and we expect it to stick around after the pandemic subsides,” JLL managing director Corey Siegrist said in a statement. “I think that Firmspace’s proworking approach makes perfect sense for this new way of working.”
