Mission50 occupies the 5,000-square-foot penthouse level of a traditional office building -the 80,000-square-foot Hoboken Business Center at 50 Harrison Street - owned and developed by the Dell'Aquilas' family real estate business.

Members can rent private or shared workspaces at Mission50. There are laptop-ready desks with WiFi Internet, and members can receive mail, print, copy, scan and fax from the office.

“When we first opened, people told me this would appeal only to young techies,” says Dell'Aquila. “I have such a wide variety of business types and the age range is all over the place.”

He says members include an attorney, a freelance interior designer, and a local “mom” writing a novel who needs office space outside of her home a couple of days a week.”

A trio from Holland who are starting up a business marketing industrial lubricants to Americans also operates from Mission50.

How did the Holland group find its way to the Hoboken space? “I'm a member of the Rotary Club,” says Dell'Aquila. “One guy, who had been a member of the Rotary in Holland joined in Jersey City when he first came here and heard about Mission50.”

The 160 or so members of Mission50 have the option of renting one of a covey of walled-off offices at one end the space, or of simply sitting near each other when they need to collaborate on a project.

The space has three soundproof “phone booths” for private conversations, but Dell'Aquila says some conversations go on within the open space, with groups and individuals invariably respecting each other's need for concentration. Dell'Aquila works from Mission50 himself, and he says he's found that, “The volume of my voice changed.”

There is also this: “If someone is having a problem concentrating at a particular moment, then they can just pick up and move to a different place.”

An “event space” at Mission50 seats up to 60 people, and there is a conference room equipped with projector technology. Mission 50 regularly hosts seminars, classes and networking events, says Dell'Aquila.

“For many independents and entrepreneurs, working from home doesn't meet the need for human interaction, collaboration or productivity,” he notes. “Our members really seem to value the community they become a part of when they work here. People order lunch together, take breaks and share ideas. There is a great creative vibe when 30 or 40 people in different businesses are sharing ideas.”

It is also possible to avoid much contact, however. Anyone wishing to sign up for space at Mission50 can take a virtual tour via a computer screen at the door, pay fees by credit card swipe, and then settle in anywhere they choose without a word.

The building is open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and locked at night. However, after-hours access is available to members who submit to a background check and obtain a key.