Upper Room Opens Doors for Co-Work Space in downtown Statesville
A little bit of quiet and plenty of space to work is what the Upper Room in Statesville offers as it opened up its co-work space with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Tuesday.
While the co-work space is something new, the mission remains the same for Upper Room. Sharon Karriker, executive director of the Upper Room, said over the last decade the space has served many purposes, this is simply another way the ministry can serve people.
“We’re meeting a different need, we’re filling a different gap for people to have a place to go of all ages,” she said. “We see that as part of our community outreach.”
From Monday to Thursday, for $20 the co-work space can be rented for the day, a half-day for $10, or an hour for $5. For $50, an entire month of use can be purchased. The co-work space covers the first floor of the building and provides plenty of seats and tables for individual workers, as well as a few areas where small meetings can be conducted.
There will be regular coffee and water available, but it won’t be like the Friday and Saturday atmosphere of the Upper Room.
What makes this different is the dedication to it as a working space. While it is open to anyone, it won’t operate as a coffee shop or venue like it does on the weekends. Workers can pay a small fee to share the space with other people looking for a productive environment, not a more socially geared one.
That’s something the Greater Statesville Chamber of Commerce and the Downtown Statesville Development Corp. were glad to see, as it gives workers what the agencies see as a unique space to conduct their business in.
“We have a lot of businesses that don’t have a brick and mortar place to go, and while the coffee shops and other locations are great, sometimes you just need a quieter space that is more conducive to having a meeting or time to think and plan,” Shannon Viera, the chamber’s president, said. “A co-work space does that. It gives you a quiet place to reflect and do business in, or have a private meeting. So this is really our first co-work space and we’re proud of Sharon and the Upper Room and their board and seeing a need for that and embracing the idea.”
That idea was echoed by Marin Tomlin, executive director of the Downtown Statesville Development Corp.
“We have for years had people looking for spaces they could rent for the day or week, and this is an opportunity, especially with COVID and those working from home that wants to socialize a little. It’s something our organization has been looking for, and this was the perfect storm. They had the space, they had the opportunity, the technology, and the coffee, so it was just a great opportunity,” Tomlin said.
Written by Gibson, Ben, Statesville Record & Landmark, “Upper Room Opens Doors for Co-Working Space in Downtown Statesville,” October 5, 2021, https://statesville.com/news/local/watch-now-upper-room-opens-doors-for-co-work-space-in-downtown-statesville/article_ce78f5d0-25e3-11ec-9c4a-bf19b38fe9f4.html.
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