Remember trendwatching.com's being spaces trend? This third-room phenomenon (commercial living-room-like settings, where catering and entertainment aren't the main attraction, but are there to facilitate small office/living room activities like watching a movie, reading a book, meeting friends and colleagues, or doing your admin) continues to evolve. From an entrepreneurial point of view, Springwise particularly likes the following being spaces spottings:
New York's Paragraph and The Village Quill are members-only centers catering to writers who need a space to be away from it all and actually get some writing done.
Paragraph ("providing an affordable and tranquil working environment for writers of all genres") occupies a 2,500 square foot loft space near Union Square, divided into a writing room and a lounge area. The writing room has 38 partitioned desks, while the lounge area contains a kitchenette, a large round table and smaller café tables. There's a refrigerator and cabinets to store members' food and beverages, as well as a microwave, toaster oven and coffee maker. The space has a laser printer and wifi throughout, and is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.
Members are assigned a pin code to access the space, and don't need to be published authors: a strong drive to write is enough. Monthly access fees range from USD 80 to 132 (EUR 67-110/GBP 45-75). So far, Paragraph has signed up 120 members.
The same set up can be found at the Village Quill, whose 1,700 square foot loft in Tribeca boasts 20 shared workstations and a lounge area. The Village Quill also organises readings and workshops.
How about combining work, child care and being spaces? Yes, there's a business opportunity in that as well: look no further than TwoRooms ("You Work, They Play"), another (surprise!) New York based facility designed to provide office space, childcare and community, all in one setting, for freelance and/or home-based workers who don't have the need for, or can't afford the expense of full-time childcare.
The setup? Two Rooms literally provides two rooms at its facility: one for parents and one for children. The 2,200 square foot communal office area has wireless internet access, computers for rent, a printer, copier, fax and scanner, and, since there's a receptionist, having packages delivered isn't a problem. A kitchen area offers an opportunity for interaction between parents. Parents can use the center for full-time childcare and office space, or can take advantage of extensive flexibility and varied scheduling options.
Childcare is available for kids from 3 months to 4 years old. Two Rooms can take a maximum of 21 adults and 21 children at a time. Kids have a completely separate space, with an infant room, and even (this IS Manhattan, after all) a small outdoor play area.
Annual membership fee is USD 150 (EUR125/GBP 85), and usage is charged by the month, week or hour with fees ranging from USD 7-14 per hour (EUR 6-12/GBP 4-8).
Opportunities
Providing space, amenities and fun to MINIPRENEURS and freelance professionals is an interesting business opportunity, both for start-ups and Big Brands. The business models behind these modern-day third spaces may not only be of interest to start-ups, but they're crying out for brand sponsorships as well! Which publisher is going to sponsor Paragraph and Quill? Which care company is going to partner with Two Rooms?
Paragraph is much nicer than the Quill. It's on 14th Street, near 6th Avenue. It's open 24-7 and they use it only as a writer's space. The other has evolved into a party/art gallery/whatever space, so a lot of times you need to leave earlier so that they can take your desk out, and arrange a party space. The website is www.paragraphny.com
I just read on Two Rooms' bulletin board:
WE ARE CLOSED!
We have closed our doors at this location and will not offer any services until further notice.