Assemble Co-Working Opens in Twin Cities

The co-working space by Assemble will bring a bit of buzz to the historic 15 Building in downtown Minneapolis.

MINNEAPOLIS—Co-working spaces have been spreading to many cities across the US as landlords realize these offices can bring buzz to a building. Assemble , a national provider of co-working spaces, has just opened its first location in downtown Minneapolis. The 16,000 square-foot space will help revive the historic 15 Building at 15 S. Fifth St. and be Assemble Shared Offices’ third location in the US. “As someone with 20 years of commercial real estate experience, I realized that Minneapolis was an ideal local into which Assemble could expand,” says Assemble co-founder Phillip Domenico . “The economy here is strong plus there is a thriving downtown community with restaurants, public transportation, events and plenty of places to live.” Chicago-based R2 Cos. and its partner  Goldman Sachs bought the 12-story building in 2014 , and set about updating both its exterior and interior. To give the building a new look, the owners worked with the Hennepin Theatre Trust to commission the five-story mural of Bob Dylan on its western façade as a tribute to the Minnesota native. They are also improving the common areas and restoring the building’s Art Deco design components. In addition to Assemble, other new tenants in 15 Building include Chobani and HiFi Project . “What Assemble will uniquely bring to the Minneapolis co-working market is twofold,” Domenico adds. “The first is a turnkey solution for a shared office, where everything is included in the cost of your space. And second, it’s a community where we regularly offer networking and business development opportunities to enhance our members’ businesses, yet if they need privacy they can have it in their own space without interruption. Our goal is to listen to our members and provide them with benefits that best fits their work/life style; so look for more offerings to come.” The new offices feature an open environment with floor-to-ceiling windows and glass walled private offices, allowing for naturally-lit work areas. Assemble also provides members with networking events and conference room usage, high speed Wi-Fi, coffee from Minnesota’s Driven Coffee , office cleaning service, 24/7 access to the offices, and flexible month-to-month leases. Seven member companies have already claimed spots including Synergy Construction , GO Intellectual Capital , Flipboard , Fresh Expertise , Praxis Capital , Ranstrom-Berg Wealth Management , and Walden University . Assemble currently has office locations in the Gold Coast and West Loop neighborhoods of Chicago. Domenico anticipates opening several new sites this year in Atlanta, Austin, Columbus, Denver, Dallas, Houston, Miami, Milwaukee, Nashville, Philadelphia and Raleigh.