Cary Coworking Opens Downtown

Cary, NC — Cary Coworking is now open on West Chatham Street in Downtown Cary. I talked to coworking guru Ian Henshaw to find out more about this innovative work environment and about how such a space can benefit our community.

Ian Henshaw on Cary Coworking

Ian Henshaw knows a lot about coworking. After all, the creative new work style overlaps with many of his goals for Cary’s growth. At Technology Tank, for example, Henshaw works to engage the town and to build “innovative technology communities.”

To accomplish this, he joined the Cary Innovation Center in 2012. This downtown building currently provides 13 different companies with office space. The arrangement, true to Henshaw’s goals, brings many different companies together, budding business relationships and a social work environment–a concept that’s very similar to coworking.

What is Coworking?

But, unlike the individual office spaces at the Cary Innovation Center, a coworking environment consists of entrepreneurs and other business people coming and going with their laptops and working in one open setting. Henshaw told me that:

Coworking is typically an urban model. In big cities like New York and San Francisco, there are coworking spaces that are hundreds of thousands of square feet. In San Francisco, there are probably 50 different coworking spaces.

Henshaw also told me that the biggest reason people cowork is because they’re tired of feeling lonely while working from home. Coworking gives small businesses and entrepreneurs a chance to join the professional community while still working independently. Furthermore, this flexibility gives growing companies a chance work in the community without having to sign a lease.

Coworking in Downtown Cary

Last year, Henshaw attended a coworking conference. At the conference, Robert Petrusz (owner of Bull City Coworking) and other experts shared tips, tricks and philosophy of this urban trend that is quickly making the Triangle its own. In late January of 2015, Henshaw took what he learned and started building a coworking community in Cary.

In only ten days, 50 people signed up for his coworking meetup group. Now, 95 people have joined–and you can too. The new Cary Coworking space is in the heart of Cary at 145 West Chatham Street (in the former home of the Lucky Pie Gallery).

Big Plans Ahead

The Cary Coworking space, as seen in the pictures above, is bright and attractive. The setup is only temporary, though. Henshaw told me that, in the next year and a half, Cary Coworking will eventually move into a larger space. We look forward to seeing what’s next.

Join Cary Coworking

Visit Cary Coworking online to join the group or to get more information about the project.

You can try coworking for free on Thursday, April 30, 2015 or contact Cary Coworking to arrange a different date. A Cary Coworking membership gives you access to all of the Cary Innovation Center’s programming.

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Story and lead photo by Jessica Patrick. Other photos from Cary Coworking.