Middlesex County Coworking Space

In October 2017, the Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce announced plans to move ahead on an innovative entrepreneurial concept that would bring a coworking space to downtown Middletown.

What is cowork space?

Cowork is a style of work that involves shared workplace and independent activity. Employees are typically not a part of the same organization, but merely share in the office space and other equipment shared at a location.

Coworking is especially attractive for work-at-home professionals, independent contractors, and workers who travel frequently.

A major benefit of coworking is the possibility of knowledge share. Because people from all different organizations and backgrounds congregate at these locations, it is possible to share ideas, discuss concepts, and fine-tune theories without being limited to coworkers of the same business. Sense of community is a large, and essential, part of the coworking process.

Planning stages

Middletown Entrepreneurs Work Space (or MEWS+) is being led by the chamber’s VP Jeff Pugliese.

“Support from the city of Middletown can be a catalyst for additional funds coming into the community,” Pugliese said. “If we are fortunate enough to secure the city’s support, we will then apply for additional support through a statewide network of entrepreneurs, mentors, service providers and others involved in helping Connecticut’s most promising startups succeed and grow.

“We’re essentially looking to take money pledged by Wesleyan, Middlesex Hospital and Liberty Bank to get the city’s support to really make that initiative sustainable — for a couple years at least,” Pugliese said.

Source: Middletown Press

Partners

Purpose

The MEWS+ is an exciting concept that will serve as a key component to economic development initiatives underway in Middletown. It will also act as a bridge to the manufacturing and engineering industries in Middlesex County.

Working with local property owners, the program aims to find “cool” and accessible locations for business meet-ups. Prioritized locations will have the requisite layout and logistical capacity to be co-working spaces.

Connecting to local manufacturers and engineering firms will be a critical part of this initiative. We hope to work with Pratt & Whitney suppliers and vendors. The Middletown Engine Center is critical to the economic health of Middlesex County, and we hope to strengthen our already strong relationship with Pratt & Whitney through this important initiative.

The MEWS+ will also work to foster local health care innovation by collaborating with Middlesex Hospital, which works in partnership with Mayo Clinic by sharing the latest lifesaving research with Mayo Clinic Specialists, and Community Health Center, which is building a world class primary healthcare system by serving more than 145,000 patients since its inception.

Source: MEWS+ pres release

Will it work?

Coworking is growing in popularity. As of 2016, New York led all cities in the U.S. with 330 coworking centers. Los Angeles had 263, San Francisco 180, and Chicago 123.

Though Connecticut is in the earlier stages of exploring this concept, but hopefully Middletown can provide a replicable and scalable model for other cities in the state.

See the following infographic for more statistics on coworking and the potential it could offer the state.

Source: OfficeVibe

Immediate next steps

Middletown Entrepreneurs Work Space will open thanks to $70,000 in funding provided by the common council, Wesleyan University, Middlesex Hospital and Liberty Bank. The Middlesex Chamber is currently outfitting a portion of its second floor that can provide a work place for 10 to 15 people.

The Chamber will serve as the headquarters for MEWS, which will also offer networking events and other services to provide resources for small businesses outside of the office setting.

It will be interesting to follow the progress of this program and see if it gains scalable traction in a state that certainly needs to reinvest in industry.

More information

See the Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce for more info here.

Visit MEWS+ directly here.