PITTSBORO — Construction was still being done last week on the new Perch Coworking location on Hillsboro Street in downtown Pittsboro as Betsey Elbogen showed off the facility.
It’s not yet done, but the offices slated for opening this spring look like your average coworking location — a wide-open space for desks and cafe-style seating, a few offices for long-term members and conference rooms in the back for reserving by the hour.
Elbogen is the owner and manager of Perch, which currently has a coworking location in Carrboro. But before we get too far into what’s going to happen in Pittsboro, what is coworking? The idea behind it, Elbogen said, is simple.
“It’s the community,” she said. “It’s being around people that are not necessarily your co-workers. I like to say sometimes it’s the office without the office politics.”
Coworking spaces have their own unique features, but most work like this: individuals who work for themselves or companies will sign up for a monthly or yearly membership that gives them access to the offices 24-7. Different levels give you different perks.
At the base level, you will have access to internet, coffee and other amenities like soundproof photo booths and reservable conference rooms. Go one step further, and you can get a desk that is all yours. Add another step, and you can get a private office.
It sounds like a regular office, right? But because the spaces operate by memberships and are not all taken up by a single company, you might be working alongside an architect or a software engineer while you write a report for your sales job.
It’s a relatively new concept, but a growing one. According to DeskMag, an online magazine about coworking, there were around 8,900 spaces and 545,000 members of coworking locations worldwide at the end of 2015. By the end of 2020, there are projected to be 26,300 spaces and 2.68 million members.
“The market for coworking spaces has undergone remarkable growth in the last couple of years and continues to flourish to this day,” DeskMag said in its 2019 Global Coworking Survey.
Elbogen said coworking spaces like hers are great for people who often work alone — “it gets lonely working by yourself,” she remarked — and the Pittsboro location will be no different than a typical location. Members will be able to secure a desk for themselves in the open floor, or grab a seat at a table along the wall. Conference rooms in the back will be open for meetings or training sessions, and soundproof phone booths are available for that important business call.
But it’s the personal touch that Elbogen said is the most important.
“We will celebrate your birthday and we will remember your name,” she said. “Somebody will say good morning to you when you come in.”
An official open date for the location has not yet been set, but when it is, Elbogen said the best way to see if coworking is for you is to try it. Interested individuals can schedule a complimentary half-day at the entry level.
“It’s always a good idea to check out a co-working space, see if the feel is good for you,” she said. “There’s different kinds of co-working space, and I always like to say we’re the boutique co-working space.”
For updates on the progress of the Pittsboro location and to learn more about Perch, you can visit perch-coworking.com. Currently, the company offers three levels of membership: a private office suite for $500/month, personal desks for $250/month and cafe-style seating for $175/month.
Reporter Zachary Horner can be reached at zhorner@chathamnr.com or on Twitter at @ZachHornerCNR.