Crystal City-based co-working space and startup incubator Eastern Foundry opened around six months ago and is already full to bursting. There are 52 member companies in the space and eight on the waiting list according to co-founder Andrew Chang. That's why the incubator is moving up its expansion plans, with a new space opening on K Street in the District this fall.
"We have more companies interested in membership than we have space in Crystal City," Chang said. "D.C. was always on our radar as a goal, now it's just happening faster than we thought."
The exact location and lease terms are still being worked out, but Chang said that he and the other Eastern Foundry partners decided the chance was too good to pass up.
"Vornado made us an offer we couldn't refuse," he explained. "So we decided to do it now instead of waiting."
The decision for which member companies work in the D.C. office will likely depend on who their clients are, Chang said. Eastern Foundry has a focus on government contracting and similar startups, which makes Crystal City ideal thanks to its proximity to many government agencies. But not all of the members fit that mold.
"There are some working with universities in D.C. that will be based there," Chang said.
Ahead of the expansion, Eastern Foundry will open a 4,000 square-foot "Venture Lab" in the building where it currently resides. That will be more of a free-form space for working on ideas rather than just room for more companies. Neither new space will affect membership rates though. Chang said Eastern Foundry is still focused on early-stage companies and it doesn't want to price them out.
"There will be more opportunities for the members," Chang said. "We won't have to raise the membership rates for it."
