{"id":11126,"date":"2024-05-22T21:35:57","date_gmt":"2024-05-22T21:35:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/topat10.com\/?p=11126"},"modified":"2024-05-22T21:35:57","modified_gmt":"2024-05-22T21:35:57","slug":"local-coworking-spaces-thrive-where-wework-dared-not-go","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/topat10.com\/?p=11126","title":{"rendered":"Local Coworking Spaces Thrive Where WeWork Dared Not Go"},"content":{"rendered":"


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The white colonial revival church with its high steeple adds an idyllic architectural touch to the affluent town of Huntington, a Long Island suburb of New York City. But a sign grabs the eye from the road: \u201cCoworking space,\u201d it says. \u201cKind of like a WeWork. Was a church, but not anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

The former church may have been leveled and replaced with condos, had Michael Hartofilis not bought it and repurposed it as a coworking venue called Main Space<\/a> that opened earlier this year. What was once a sanctuary with a high ceiling has been split into two floors of coworking space, with cubicles, glass phone booths, and minimalist art. Industrial-style beams and modern, geometric light fixtures are juxtaposed with the preserved, intricate crown molding and artisan details that hug the building\u2019s windows and doorways.<\/p>\n

I spent a morning working out of the bisected sanctuary, where cubicles with ergonomic desk chairs have replaced church pews. Neon signs and bright colors make it easy to forget Main Space was once a church, and it has all the amenities of a typical coworking space\u2014a gym, ice bath, kitchen, various conference rooms with comfortable armchairs and patterned wallpaper, and an outdoor patio decorated with a string of lights. But it\u2019s also embedded in the community. On a Thursday afternoon, people were scattered at desks throughout the building and in conference rooms, chatting with one another between their own business calls.<\/p>\n

\u201cIdeally, it is local people\u201d who sign up for the coworking space, says Hartofilis, who also heads an energy company and is working on a neighborhood social app. He\u2019s hoping those who come feel like they\u2019re part of something exclusive and get to know one another. But people have already come from neighboring towns, or used it as a meeting place between New York City and towns on Long Island. \u201cThere’s not a whole lot of supply as far as coworking spaces, there’s nothing like this.\u201d<\/p>\n

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