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August 24, 2007

How'd you like to work in an office like this?

You may be among the millions of people who wish their workplace was a little more, shall we say, inspiring. Well, if you want an example of what such an office could look like, you may want to visit eOffice in London. Click here for a larger photo.

First of all, it's in the heart of Soho (see pic on our About page), the media hub of London and a magnet for cool cafes, bars and coffeehouses, creatives and entrepreneurs. What good is a an inspired workplace if it's in the middle of an uninspiring office park.

Second, it's designed by and for creatives and entrepreneurs, as you can probably tell, and its leases are vastly flexible for both size of company (1 to 15 people), stay (month to month leases or longer), and need (meeting rooms can be rented separately).

Founder Paolo Mucelli hatched the idea at 37 when seeking office space as a marketing director for his former company, frustrated at the lack of short term leases and willingness to rent to a newer company. 28 months later, and 12 months, $2 million after working full time on the idea, Paolo opened his offices on April 2, 2002. In his words, "The idea about eOffice came from my eagerness to have great office for myself, in a designer environment and with great technology. I had the vision to establish an innovative office environment available to individuals and small businesses wanting the set up a business in central London and wanting to have a ready made office solution, with the possibility of networking with like-minded individuals.

How successful has eOffice been since? It now has sixteen offices on five continents, including six in the U.S. Keep in mind that the cool factor for the interior design mirrors that of the neighborhood it's in, so expect vast differences between the interiors of eOffices in Tysons Corner, Virginia and the West Village in Manhattan.

Thanks to Rasul Sha'ir at Vosica for the reference.

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August 23, 2007

Beta communities seeding in many cities (Part 2)

Continuing our look from yesterday at where Beta Communities are being formed...

Syracuse
Where will the creatives go in Syracuse when places begin to gentrify? That won't be a problem at 200 South Geddes, where developer Rick Destitio is transforming a 5-story historic factory building into a artist-musician live-work center. Not only that, but he's sponsoring a Beta Community that will eventually consist of 500 of the city's most progressive, culturally creative, entrepreneurial and/or passionate people who want to co-design, co-develop, and eventually co-habitate the place. The group of 18 core members are currently narrowing down the name... will it be the Brown-Lipe Gear Building, GearWorks, or the Gear Factory? If you live in Syracuse and want to be a part of it, you can join the effort here.

New Orleans
The city is rebuilding. However, just what is it rebuilding into? New Orleans already has a reputation of being one of the most authentic cities in the country, and the next generation of young urban rebuilding professionals (aka YURP) want to keep it that way, yet raise its quality of life, 24/7 experiences, and knowledge-based economy to rival that of Austin, Silicon Valley and NYC. YURP, 700+ members and counting, is just about to launch a Beta Community to begin identifying key buildings in targeted neighborhoods (The Warehouse District?). Get involved with the base group here.

Keep track of these Beta Communities as well as the ones mentioned yesterday here.

Image source: Chris Camargo

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August 22, 2007

Restaurant in Italy

Beta Communities seeding in many cities

Here's a rundown on the progress of Beta Communities in cities across the country:

Washington DC

- A VIBE beta community to crowdsource a progressive new downtown restaurant, (since named Elements) now has 108 members and counting five months into the process, and it doesn't even have a location yet (somewhere around 14th and U Street) . In the meantime, the beta community has convinced the business owner to grow from 1000 to 3000 s.f.; to go vegetarian, organic, local farm-oriented (except coffee I suppose); green; open kitchen (similar to the image); and offer a full slate of education, community and entertainment programs committed to making an impact, yet having fun at the same time. Read more about in this Washington Business Journal article, and if you live in the Washington DC and feel you should be a part of this, you can join the group here. Better get a passport, as we're looking into a trip to Nicaragua to experience the rustic shade-grown, organic, free-trade coffee culture and economy.

- In Anacostia, a Building Beta Community has just been initiated to crowdsource a two-story, 14,000 s.f. shell of a building into a green, health-oriented mixed-use building of forward-thinking retail on the ground floor, and residential units above. Anacostia is an economically-challenged neighborhood that is slowly turning the economic corner, but has yet to boast that inspiring destination to get its former creatives to move back. Also, because many of those cultural entrepreneurs have left, we're looking to work with Howard University's most recent alumni about designing this building just for them. The focus here is about growing a strong African-American economy and culture, Anacostia's heritage, and if you'd like to participate, you can join the effort here.

Keep up with and discuss all the Beta Communities here.

More cities in the next entry...

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August 21, 2007

Light Wind

Growing small businesses with the wind

When one thinks of wind energy, especially via those massive wind farms, small businesses don't necessarily come to mind. That's changing very quickly in more ways than one.

First, a clean energy broker/aggregator, Clean Currents is making it easy for small businesses to switch to wind and other renewable energies (solar, geothermal) by linking them to the best 'green power' prices, often lower than standard rates! Clean Current locates the electricity provider offering the best deal. They get paid a 1% commission by the power provider, and the only difference the business will see, other than the savings, is a notation on their same exact electricity bill that lets them know their dollars are committed to clean green power. Local, indie businesses have formed consortiums with long term deals to get even better rates, as described in more detail in the NY Times.

Second, it won't be long before the streets in front of these businesses will be illuminated by 'Light Winds' (pictured), manufactured in Germany.

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August 20, 2007

Professional Building Lofts, Kansas City

KC creatives get what they want - attainable downtown lofts

It's been kind of an oxymoron - attainably-priced urban lofts. With the help of the unrealized potential of downtown Kansas City and a full repertoire of government financing programs, creatives can get their hands on rather attractive lofts starting at $500/mo. for a 1BR/1BA to $620/mo. for a 2BR/2BA, at the Professional Building Lofts.

These aren't run-down units, but newly renovated loft-style residences with built-in washer and dryer, stainless steel appliances and wood floors, plus a community room with kitchenette and big-screen TV, an on-site fitness center, and a rooftop deck with kitchenette and bathroom. The $21 million, 132-unit project also consists of 10,000 s.f. of retail space, starting with a neighborhood-serving coffeehouse and deli.

The be able to provide such desirable rates, the developer, The Alexander Company utilized every financing tool in the book: state and federal historic tax credits (the 16-story building was constructed in the late 1920s), state and federal affordable housing tax credits, tax abatement, community development block grants, HOME funds/loans, tax-exempt bonds, and an economic development initiative. Whew, it's a good thing there are people out there that truly enjoy putting together such financial arrangements.

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