It was never in the plan for Luke Armstrong and Molly Nicklin to own a co-working space. But when they had a chance to buy an old grocery store at 40th and California, the midtown co-working space Cali Commons was born.
“We had a house near Benson,” Armstrong says, “and we rented a space in Benson because we both do some performance painting.” But the cost was prohibitive. “We started looking around, and we found this building and moved in upstairs.”
The pair floated around other ideas for what to do with the excess space. They’d already decided to put an art gallery in the basement and allotted space for Luke’s office and other project RenMind, a web application company.
“We always wanted to be around creative people and entrepreneurs,” Armstrong says. “I like to make new businesses all the time. It was kind of a natural progression.”
The plans for Cali Commons include having new artwork every month as well as providing a place for art shows and other events. Armstrong and Nicklin also wanted to provide a space that won’t break the bank that’s close to a lot of young professionals. As of January, three people are renting out personal office space, and a few others rent out “seats” in the open area dubbed the co-working space. But the duo is hoping for around 10 or so to gather in the co-working space.
“I’ve always loved this building, for years, and when I saw there was an opportunity to get an office here, I jumped at the chance,” says Ryan Behrens, a social services contractor. “It helps me focus a lot more than working from home, so I think it’s well worth the price of the rent.”
Another aspiration for the co-working space is to host movie nights, yoga classes, or other fun things to help build relationships with everyone using the space.
“We wanted a place that would bring in the kinds of people we wanted to be around,” Armstrong says. He suggests that since they spend so much time in the office, why not make it fun?
The space is open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. generally, but Armstrong and Nicklin don’t expect people to stick around the whole time. In fact, some renters work only in the mornings or only in the afternoons. The space is available for renters to pop in whenever is convenient. The only stipulation is that the co-working space is not available when an art show or other event is utilizing the open area.
