Coworking firm expanding to Hampton Roads

Published April 24, 2019 by Michael O'Connor

A Virginia coworking company is in expansion mode with two new locations planned for Hampton Roads and another set to open in Richmond.

Gather Workspaces LLC announced on Tuesday plans to open in August a 27,341-square-foot coworking space at 630 Hofstadter Rd. at Building One of the Tech Center Research Park in Newport News.

The Newport News Gather is the second location the company has planned for Hampton Roads. In June, Gather plans to open a coworking space at 500 E. Main St. in Norfolk. Savannah Bolin has been hired as the regional director of Gather’s Hampton Roads operations.

Gather is a coworking firm that opened its first location in Richmond in 2014. Gather plans to relocate its original downtown Richmond location later this year to a 20,000-square-foot space at 313 E. Broad St. in Richmond. Gather added in 2016 a location in Richmond’s Scott’s Addition neighborhood and in 2018 a facility in Short Pump.

Coworking companies like Gather offer tenants shorter leases and provide a number of amenities. Coworking was originally associated with startup companies but more established companies have been drawn to the flexibility of month-to-month contracts, says James Crenshaw, an owner of Gather. Doug and Polly White are also owners of the company.

Pricing starts at $250 a month for full access to the space and amenities at Gather. For $350 a month people can get a dedicated desk, and private offices start at $500 a month.

The Gather in Newport News will have room for 400 members in more than 133 private spaces. The building will have larger suites available, opene area workspaces, event space, conference rooms and meeting spaces. On the amenities side, Gather Newport News will offer coffee and tea in a communal kitchen along with a Wednesday Cookie Hour.

Gather members have access to every location so people with space in any of the Richmond area locations can use the Hampton Roads locations and vice versa.

Odell Associates Inc. Architects, which has offices in Richmond and North Carolina, is leading the design of Gather Newport News. Richmond-based Campfire & Co. is the interior designer.

Gather is the latest tenant to be announced for the Tech Center Research Park. Last week, the medical device manufacturer ivWatch LLC announced it had finalized a lease in the same building that Gather is going into at Tech Center.

Tech Center is a large development in Newport News with a mix of retail, residential and research spaces at the corner of Oyster Point Road and Jefferson Avenue. Tech Center Research Park is planned to have 10 buildings that range between 80,000 and 100,000 square feet. The research buildings will have three and four stories.