Danville is following the shift away from traditional office space to coworking space with the opening of River City Coworking in the River District.
Located below Solex Architecture at 101 South Ridge St., the site offers different levels of member access, including day passes and monthly memberships for shared open table space, a dedicated desk or a dedicated office.
“Coworking is all about small businesses helping each other through minimizing cost as a barrier to entry for startups,” said Lenny Keesee, co-founder of River City Coworking. “It’s not always easy for small businesses to take on a multi-year lease, utility commitments and the additional overhead involved in running a public facing business.
“Our coworking site provides the tools needed by small businesses in a typical office space, but at a fraction of the cost. We firmly believe having a space downtown geared towards helping other entrepreneurs succeed will be a win-win for our area.”
Corrie Teague Bobe, assistant director for the Danville Office of Economic Development, said coworking spaces provide ways for entrepreneurs to collaborate and network.
“As an entrepreneur, you’re surrounded by other like-minded individuals,” Bobe said.
The site has 1,100-square feet of space, with capacity for 17 clients. River City Coworking offers three primary plans. Tier one is a café-style that offers shared open table space for $100 a month for 12 months. Tier two offers a single dedicated desk with locked storage and 24/7 access for $200 a month for 12 months. Tier three provides dedicated office space with a lockable door and 24/7 access. Price for tier three is based on square footage needs.
Day passes will be available for individuals traveling from out of town or so anyone locally can experience the coworking environment on a short-term basis. Daily passes will start at $15.
Keesee provides Wi-Fi and hardwire internet connection for clients. For a fee, a conference room is offered separately for meetings.
The Danville Office of Economic Development recruits and retains businesses for the Danville area. The office provides information on available sites and buildings, incentives and other financial resources and offers a website designed for the business community, discoverdanville.com.
