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Harrisonburg coworking hub slated to open in December

UPDATED NOV. 1

James Madison University in Harrisonburg has long wanted to be more involved with innovation and entrepreneurship in the Shenandoah Valley region. So, when a co-founder of the Staunton Innovation Hub coworking space announced plans in 2022 to renovate the historic Wetsel Seed building into the Harrisonburg Innovation Hub (HIH), JMU pre-leased 1,000 square feet of flex space there, says Keith Holland, the university’s associate vice provost for research and innovation.

“We love the principle of what they’re doing, creating community, supporting innovators,” he says. “We said, ‘We need to be part of that.’”

JMU was the first to sign up for space in the HIH, which is set to open Dec. 2. The three-story, 26,500-square-foot brick building includes 53 private offices, plus larger private spaces, conference rooms, coworking spaces, focus rooms for private calls, a wellness room and an outdoor workspace.

Part of “the magic” of these spaces is that they attract people from a diverse cross-section of industries, says Peter Denbigh, co-founder and co-owner of HIH. “And the other magic that it creates is the camaraderie and the conversation that happens and the collaboration.”

Tenants can sign up for multiyear or month-to-month memberships that include free coffee, happy hours and lunch-and-learn sessions in partnership with organizations like the Shenandoah Community Capital Fund.

Denbigh, who co-founded the Staunton hub in 2018, says Harrisonburg was chosen because it’s “just a wonderful, thriving town of energy and entrepreneurship and innovation and business. It just made a lot of sense to be here.”

JMU will use its space for the Gilliam Center for Entrepreneurship, the Shenandoah Valley Small Business Development Center and the Shenandoah Valley Partnership. The university is also working with its College of Visual and Performing Arts to demonstrate “how to inject creativity into the business and innovation process,” Holland says.

HIH is managed by Innovation Management, a separate entity from the Staunton hub’s management, but members will have some privileges at both locations. A group of investors purchased the Wetsel Seed building for $2.88 million, spending more than $2 million on renovations. 

Next up is a location in Waynesboro, slated to open by the end of this year, Denbigh says. “We’re renting a really cool space in the Virginia Metalcrafters building, and we’re excited to bring some of this magic to Waynesboro.”  

Henrico EDA program will help international businesses get foothold

The Henrico Economic Development Authority is launching a global business gateway program for internationally headquartered companies seeking to establish a presence in the United States.

The Henrico Global Business Gateway, which the EDA announced Tuesday, will provide international businesses with office space for up to three staffers each in the upcoming Gather Workspaces coworking location at Innsbrook, set to open in early 2025, as well as wraparound business services.

“The idea is that they would have a home for 12 to 18 months,” said Anthony Romanello, executive director of the Henrico EDA. “And then, as they bring people on, as they sort of grow their U.S. business, they would move into a larger facility, hopefully in Henrico but certainly somewhere in the Richmond region.”

Richmond-based Gather, which has coworking properties in Hampton Roads and the greater Richmond area, is currently renovating the interior of its roughly 19,000-square-foot space at 4101 Cox Road. Raleigh, North Carolina-based Highwoods Properties, an office real estate investment trust, is its landlord.

“The idea with going in with Gather is that they’ve got a whole ecosystem,” Romanello said. “They’ll be there with other businesses. There’s coffee and telephones and conference rooms and a Xerox machine and all kinds of access to services, so you walk in, and it’s ready to go. The other thing is that there’ll be the opportunity for B2B because they would be in there with other businesses.”

The Henrico EDA is signing a membership with Gather, reserving 20 seats for the gateway. Under the two-year agreement that the EDA can renew, it will pay about $110,000 a year. Similar to subleasing, companies in the gateway will then join Gather as members under the EDA, paying it a subsidized rate.

“We are excited to have the Henrico Global Business Gateway join our newest community,” Gather CEO Doug White said in a statement. “Gather West End will provide these entrepreneurs with the environment needed to continue their growth and development. We are honored to partner with Henrico EDA on this important endeavor.”

The Henrico EDA will work with partners to offer wraparound services for companies in the gateway, including:

  • Business consulting services like market research, search engine optimization and website marketing services;
  • Professional services like legal counsel, immigration consulting, and marketing, accounting and real estate services;
  • Specialized workforce partners for recruiting and hiring staff;
  • Business development organizations and networking;
  • Startup community and capital/financing partners;
  • And tailored relocation assistance for company leadership or staff and their families.

The EDA is gathering partners in preparation for the gateway’s 2025 launch, although Long & Foster Real Estate is already on board to help with relocation services.

The first gateway program participant will be African fintech firm Rego.

“We are profoundly humbled to be the pioneering participant of the Henrico Global Business Gateway,” Yogo Dubois, founder and CEO of Rego, said in a statement. “Henrico’s strategic location, conducive business environment, proactive governance and the extensive support from the Henrico Economic Development Authority have been instrumental in the process of our establishment in the beautiful county of Henrico.”

Although localities elsewhere have “soft landing” programs similar to the Henrico Global Business Gateway, Henrico’s program has distinguishing factors, Romanello said.

“Where ours really stands out is the partnership with Gather and that we would be putting our new international companies in a coworking environment so that they’ve really got that opportunity for B2B interaction,” Romanello said, “and we’ve really got this whole suite of wraparound services that we’re going to be able to provide them.”

CoStar-WeWork dispute opens door for coworking competitors

One of the most disrupted sectors in Northern Virginia since the pandemic has been office space, as many white-collar workers work remote or hybrid schedules, leading to less demand.

On top of that, in Arlington County’s Rosslyn corridor, WeWork clients have had to deal with the coworking company’s uncertain future. Although WeWork was set to exit Chapter 11 bankruptcy in mid-June, it’s been unclear whether it will remain a tenant at the 1201 Wilson Blvd. building, which CoStar Group purchased for $339 million in February as its new corporate headquarters.

In recent months, CoStar has been in court, trying to get WeWork to vacate and claiming WeWork didn’t pay rent promptly. That could leave room for WeWork competitors offering more stability.

At nearby Office Evolution Arlington-Rosslyn, owner Trey Hardin’s phone has been busy. “We have been contacted by several WeWork members recently — all who want out and a new, reliable home for their business,” he says. “The common sentiment we are hearing is that, ‘WeWork has given up and is checked out.’”

Hardin also notes that coworking demands have evolved. “Customers are no longer seeking an office for a week or a hot desk for a day. They either want true commercial space with unprecedented flexible terms and pricing, or they want dedicated offices in coworking centers on longer term agreements with specialized member services.”

Office Evolution client Ron Prater, chief operating officer of Alexandria-based technology business Bent Ear Solutions, says he and his colleagues “looked at many coworking spaces. Many had tons of frills — tons of open space, networking events at night, etc. — but were not conducive for our work.”

Arlington Economic Development Director Ryan Touhill says the CoStar-WeWork dispute, which the two sides’ attorneys declined to comment on, is a “private matter between a landlord and tenant and does not reflect broader commercial real estate market trends.”

However, Touhill also sees change in the market. “We are observing a trend toward ‘flight to quality,’ which bolsters the appeal of premium office buildings,” Touhill says. “This trend is driving strategic investments in various forms: renovating and repositioning existing office spaces, planning full redevelopments into alternative uses, and constructing new high-end office buildings. Arlington is actively developing guidelines for adaptive reuse, where building owners convert office spaces into alternative uses such as residential units or hotels.” 

Global coworking franchise coming to Chesapeake

Venture X, a global coworking office space franchise, is entering the Hampton Roads market, with its first location coming to Summit Pointe in Chesapeake, Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer announced Tuesday.

HMP Properties LLC, a Venture X franchisee, has leased 18,543 square feet of space in the 555 Belaire office tower, which is part of Summit Pointe, a mixed-use development from Summit Pointe Realty LLC, a subsidiary of Fortune 500 discount retailer Dollar Tree Inc. Under development since 2018, Summit Pointe includes Dollar Tree’s corporate headquarters tower, as well as restaurants and the Mosaic, Vista and Helix apartment communities.

Sahil Patel, managing partner of HMP Properties, will oversee the buildout, opening and management of the Venture X location.

Rob Wright of Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer handled leasing negotiations on behalf of Venture X, which already has locations in Richmond, Fairfax, Ashburn and Arlington.

When Summit Pointe’s three phases are completed, which includes the extension of Belaire Avenue to better connect the project with the rest of the Greenbrier district, the development is expected to include 1.75 million square feet of office and retail space plus more than 1,400 apartment units.

CFA Institute sells Charlottesville HQ for $21.9M

The Charlottesville headquarters of CFA Institute sold for $21.9 million, Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer announced Tuesday.

The 150,000-square-foot office building, at 915 E. High St., is the former Martha Jefferson Hospital, which opened in 1904, according to Cvillepedia. CFA Institute, a nonprofit association of investment professionals, will lease back 47,000 square feet for its ongoing operations. The location has been the institute’s home since 2014, after a renovation that included sustainability features.

Thalhimer has been awarded the leasing by the buyer, Lo-Hi LLC, and the building will remain Class A office space. It is the only Class A building near downtown with parking. Lo-Hi will also be opening Lo-Hi Coworking, which will provide private executive office space for companies with up to 10 employees.

John Pritzlaff and Jenny Stoner of Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer handled the sale and lease negotiations on behalf of the buyer and will handle the office space leasing going forward.

Two retail, office buildings in Chesapeake sell for $3.1M

Two buildings with retail and coworking spaces on South Military Highway in Chesapeake have sold for $3.1 million, Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer announced Monday.

The 38,800-square-foot and 10,000-square-foot buildings sit on 4.7 acres at 2211 S. Military Highway. The property’s 31 tenants include Amazon.com Inc., FedEx Corp., U-Haul and Laundry Land.

Advisory Investments LLC purchased the property from Chesapeake Virtual Offices & Property Rentals Inc. and plans to allow tenants to lease monthly or annually and to maintain coworking space at the site. Janet Whitbeck with Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer represented the seller.

Coworking hub for entrepreneurs opening in Harrisonburg

The brains behind the Staunton Innovation Hub are working on bringing a new hub to a new city: the $4.5 million Harrisonburg Innovation Hub is expected to open in late 2023, investors and partners announced Tuesday.

Harrisonburg “has a very vibrant and growing startup ecosystem in place already, and there’s just a need for it there. And so, that need, coupled with finding a really cool building that’s in a great location, it just fit well with what we like to do,” said Staunton Innovation Hub co-founder and co-owner Peter Denbigh.

A partnership of investors, HIH LLC, closed on the 26,500-square-foot Wetsel Seed building in downtown Harrisonburg in late October for $2.88 million. The group plans to renovate it to create up to 60 private offices, coworking spaces, spaces for anchor tenants who will sign multiyear agreements, rooftop event space and an AV production studio with video and podcast equipment. The hub also will offer programming, including networking events and informational sessions for entrepreneurs.

The management group wants the project to be an economic engine for the Shenandoah Valley, Denbigh said.

“We hope that we can bring some anchor members to the Harrisonburg Innovation Hub that bring jobs to the area,” he said, “because Harrisonburg has a bunch of talent, it’s a great place to live, and so, if we can be a satellite location, if we can be a new office, etc., for a Northern Virginia company, a Richmond company, Charlottesville company, that sort of thing, that’s really our hope.”

The Harrisonburg project has been in development for almost a year. Although Denbigh and Director Hannah Cooper will be involved in both hubs, the Harrisonburg location will be managed by Innovation Management Corp., an entity separate from the Staunton hub management.

The Staunton location grew over three years to its current 30,000-square-foot footprint in two buildings. It houses more than 110 businesses, including the nonprofit Shenandoah Community Capital Fund and professional services firm Hantzmon Wiebel LLP.

Pendleton Community Bank is the financing partner for the hub, and the architect is Eugene Stoltzfus Architects.

Inspiration strikes in coworking space

It’s ironic that the Staunton Innovation Hub, a coworking center, opened its largest phase amid a global pandemic that sent many workers home, away from shared workspaces.

“The pandemic certainly created its own set of challenges in terms of opening a coworking space,” says Peter Denbigh, who founded the hub with his ex-wife, Alison Denbigh.

The first phase of the Staunton Innovation Hub, about 4,500 square feet on Augusta Street, opened a few years ago. The second phase is about 25,000 square feet located in the News Leader building on Central Avenue. The city newspaper’s offices are still located in the building in a smaller space. The renovated coworking space opened in October 2020 and was largely filled a year later. “We have a verbal commitment on the last remaining space,” Denbigh says. In October 2022, he plans to add another coworking space at the 25,000-square-foot Wetsel Seed building in Harrisonburg.

The pandemic “forced us to react quickly… to really listen to what our members needed,” Denbigh says. The hub’s second phase includes conference equipment, a game room and a wellness room for meditation or nursing mothers. The rooftop is available for socializing and networking, and an outdoor plaza will be completed in early 2022.

The renovation took a “100-year-old building and launched it into the 21st century,” Denbigh says. He’s pleased with the way the space has filled up, especially given that “this is in Staunton in the Shenandoah Valley, not in the middle of Reston or Fairfax.”

An entrepreneur, Denbigh co-owns Skyler Innovations, which created the “Watch Ya Mouth” party game that was a top seller on Amazon in 2016. He appreciates the “variety and quantity” of businesses represented at the hub, where nonprofits, CPAs, freelance contractors, mental health professionals, lawyers and tech companies can share ideas. Mary Baldwin University’s College of Education also has offices there.

Debbie Irwin, executive director of the Shenandoah Community Capital Fund, says the space serves as “a physical convening space for the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the Valley.” Startup companies have access to amenities and get the opportunity to talk to others who are taking risks.

“Having an entrepreneur support organization as well as a university and other great subject matter experts in one space really allows entrepreneurs to navigate through the startup process and get the support they need to keep moving forward,” Irwin says.