Coworking space and startup accelerator 1909 is set to expand in West Palm Beach.
On May 16, the city of West Palm Beach selected 1909's bid to purchase 314 Clematis St., a 29,181-square-foot building constructed in 1923. The nonprofit organization offered $10 million in cash for the site, which was purchased by the CRA in 2017 to encourage businesses to move to downtown West Palm Beach.
1909 – named after the year West Palm Beach was founded – serves more than 230 local small business owners and entrepreneurs with subsidized workspaces, community events and a six-month accelerator program.
In addition to the $10 million, 1909's bid includes $1.5 million in renovation costs for the historic building and $300,000 for public alley improvements, shade canopies and a sidewalk cafe. The transaction will be financed by 1909 and Third Seven Capital, an investment firm specializing in health care, technology and real estate.
The 1909 project beat out three other bids, including a proposed holocaust memorial from Amud Aish Memorial Museum and a mixed-use residential, office and parking project from Brand Atlantic.
Co-founder Danielle Casey said the CRA originally approached 1909 to purchase 314 Clematis in 2019, but soon after it received unsolicited bids from other businesses
"Our use case for the building is perfectly aligned with the city's mission to holistically support small businesses and entrepreneurs, and give them a space in downtown in perpetuity," she told the Business Journal. "I'm happy the city saw that."
1909 plans to split the first floor between small businesses and a community coworking space. The nonprofit has already selected several vendors for the retail portion of the building, including The Garden Shoppe, Candid Coffee and Rohi's Readery children's book store.
Many of the selected vendors either outgrew their previous locations or were priced out, Casey added. Commercial rents in downtown West Palm Beach and the city's warehouse district have skyrocketed in recent years, making it difficult for small businesses to compete.
"There's really nowhere left and I think we presented that well to the city," Casey said. "Projects like ours are the only way we can keep small businesses downtown."
Early-stage startups and small businesses that participate in 1909's accelerator program will have access to incubator space at 314 Clematis when they graduate, she added. The second floor of the building will have 14,000-square-feet of private offices and classrooms and the roof will be decked out as an event area.
Casey said 1909 expects to complete renovations and relocate to 314 Clematis in two years.
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