A growing co-working company with a global footprint is about to lay stakes in Milwaukee at a time when the need for flexible office space continues to heat up.
In May, executives with Spaces, a shared office space company with a presence on six continents, announced plans of opening a new co-working space within a mixed-use development at 1433 N. Water St. The location is the company’s first for Wisconsin.
International Workplace Group, the Luxembourg-based parent company of Spaces, announced the Milwaukee location will contain 43,000 square feet of a larger multi-tenant redevelopment as part of the announcement earlier this year.
Plans call for the Milwaukee Spaces location to open in November, joining 200 other sites across the globe. Spaces currently has a presence in 17 U.S. states.
The site will include a number of amenities, including meeting rooms, dedicated desks and private office space. A rooftop patio, accessible to members, is also included in the plans.
In an interview with Wisconsin Inno, Michael Berretta, vice president of network development with IWG, said the decision to locate at the North Water Street site was an easy one because it fit hand-in-glove into the company’s strategy.
“It’s an interesting area of Milwaukee,” Berretta said of the location, noting the redevelopment that has sprouted up in the surrounding confines. “There’s a lot of vibrancy in that market right now.”
Throughout the interview, Beretta stressed the flexibility of Spaces’ services — from users in need of a one-time setting to professionals in need of a more regular locale.
As companies across the globe expand their geographical presence, Beretta said the need for small, flexible worksites — rather than a dedicated office building or suite — has become more practical in a number of markets, including Milwaukee.
“It works for someone who wants to drop in and have a quick meeting or for someone who needs a larger type of space,” Beretta said. “We want to be part of a bigger community.”
While specifics have yet to be announced, Beretta said IWG has plans of further expanding Spaces’ presence in additional markets within the U.S. and elsewhere in the next 12 to 18 months.
“We have a nice pipeline of opportunities beyond that,” Beretta said. “We will continue to grow the network, and you’ll see the growth trajectory continue.”
In the road ahead, Beretta said Spaces could expand further beyond its current service offerings, depending upon the needs of a specific market. He mentioned event planning as one possibility in the future.
“As we grow and evolve, we’ll continue to grow the offerings of the company,” he said. “You’ll see new types of services.”
