CHICAGO—As reported in GlobeSt.com last Friday, Harbor Group International, LLC has just signed New York-based Serendipity Labs to open and manage a 30,000-square-foot co-working lounge and conference center on the mezzanine level and second floor of One South Wacker, its 40-story, 1.2-million-square-foot tower in the West Loop. And John Arenas, chief executive officer of Serendipity, now tells GlobeSt.com that his company plans to put similar spaces in other class A office buildings, residential buildings, hotels and other spaces. “What we're building is a national network that our members can access wherever they go.”
Although co-working spaces have proliferated across the US, this Serendipity facility “is an important first for Chicago,” Arenas adds. One South Wacker is the first class A Chicago office building to incorporate a full-service shared workspace and conference center for its tenants and the public. Tenants know that today's employees want, and increasingly expect, a variety of work options away from the traditional office desk, and Serendipity can provide that.
“It is an extension of your own space,” Arenas says. Office users can host a conference with up to 100 people, or employees can move down there for a day or more if they need to get away from their own office. The facility, which will open on October 15, also has private offices, workstations, studios and meet-up rooms. “Having that in the building can be a real asset. The meta trend is that companies of all sizes are changing, and instead of one desk per person, most also want to have an adjunct space.” And for landlords, “this is an amenity that your tenants are going to want.”
Workers in One South Wacker will have access to the working lounge on the mezzanine level, near the building's new fitness center, one of the other amenities that Harbor has added to make the property more attractive. Serendipity members will also have access to the second floor, a more traditional co-working space. Although prices vary, a typical member might pay $199 for a monthly pass, which allows five visits over the month, or purchase a day-pass for $49. Other memberships can cost $1000 for a dedicated space, or even more for a more complete office.
“We have a partnership with Harbor on the mezzanine floor,” Arenas explains, in which they share revenue since that is also an amenity for the building, but for the second floor space Serendipity and Harbor have a more traditional landlord/tenant relationship.
What makes the Serendipity deal particularly valuable for Harbor is that Hospitality Ventures Management Group, a hotel management and development firm that runs 42 hotels across the country, will handle day-to day operations, even providing a concierge. “To have a world-class operator generating revenue on the mezzanine while at the same time providing tenants with an amenity is a triple-win,” Arenas says. Users “can expect a certain professional acumen that they may not have encountered in other co-working spaces. This is co-working for grown-ups.”
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Brian J. Rogal
Brian J. Rogal is a Chicago-based freelance writer with years of experience as an investigative reporter and editor, most notably at The Chicago Reporter, where he concentrated on housing issues. He also has written extensively on alternative energy and the payments card industry for national trade publications.
