WeWork Roosevelt and the Changing U District

The U District is changing. There is the first new high rise since 1975, University Seafood is closing, and now WeWork is opening a co-working and separate office space at the Roosevelt Commons 4311 11th Ave NE on January 12, 2020. I must tell you that I’ve dreamed of branching out and creating my own startup. The Roosevelt Commons is a great location for me. I requested a tour of the space, and some very nice sales associates showed me around the 5th floor of the building which was literally a building site. The flooring was not yet installed. There was no furniture, but a marble counter was being installed in the soon-to-be kitchen.

There is a pretty nice view of the ship canal bridge and downtown. You are only on the 5th floor, but speaking as a person who works in a no light basement floor I thought it was inspiring. The glass walls of the group offices and individual offices are in place which keeps the space lit naturally. The common space is a bit smaller than what I’ve heard other WeWork spaces provide.

I explored the Hot Desk option where your membership includes the common work space as well as the other amenities WeWork is known for: Kombucha on tap, fruit water and cold brew coffee. The type of fruit in the fruit water changes daily, because of course. But that’s not all. Some of the locations are dog-friendly, there are wellness rooms, meeting rooms, cleaning services, business printers and professional and social events. The Hot Desk option is roughly $300 plus a month, but you do not have a desk to call your own.

One of the reasons co-working is appealing is the networking opportunities you have with the other co-workers sharing the space. The Hot Desk gets you that at a relatively low price. The common area seemed a little small though at this location. They also showed me a single desk office which was available at the time I toured. It was a startup person’s dream. Just enough space for you but still in the heart of things, and with glass walls ensuring privacy of an auditory kind if not visual. The single desk office, if you can get one, doubles the price of the Hot Desk membership to $600 plus a month.

Yet there has been a lot of negative press about WeWork especially concerning the amazing golden parachute its former CEO got. Thanks for ruining preferred shares for the rest of us dreamers Adam. Investors are very stingy with giving preferred shares to founders and the billion plus buh-bye to Adam Neumann is exactly the reason.

Despite the bad press the world goes on. People need office space, and WeWork is one of the few places that offer deluxe co-working space. My friend Kyle currently has his company housed in one of their downtown locations. They are only there temporarily. Originally they were located at Startup Hall at UW. They outgrew that space and are staying at WeWork until they move into their own building when its completed. He told me WeWork is great and that he didn’t notice any skimping as if the company were in trouble. “It will be hard to go back to a place without the fruit water and cold brew. And I’m going to have to wash my own dishes again,” he told me. He’s not into Kombucha though.