Work begins on downtown Ypsilanti co-working space

A new co-working space called The Back Office Studio is under construction in downtown Ypsilanti and should be open this fall.

Construction workers with JC Beal Construction have begun working on 13 N Washington with a target of having the space completed in time for a Halloween opening. In the meantime, The Back Office Studio team is recruiting its first patrons.

"We're looking for second stage companies in any industry," says John Newman, general manager of The Back Office Studio. "We're not going to be incubating startups. We ware looking for established companies looking for office space or collaboration space."

The Back Office Studio is also looking for freelancers and other new economy professionals to fill out its space. The plan is to start at the ground floor of the 9,000-square-foot building and go from there.

"We're going to start on the first floor and expand into the second floor," Newman says.

The co-working space will enable users to have 24/7 access to the building through a key card. Memberships are available to $100 a week or $25 a day trial memberships. Regular memberships where people can access a desk on a first-come-first-serve basis are available for $200 per month. A membership where the user has access to a private desk go for $350 per month. Users will also have access to the stereotypical co-working options, like coffee, snacks, conference rooms, and WiFi.

"We're working to have a really robust wifi," Newman says.

Newman and his partners purchased the building earlier this year with the idea of turning it into a new economy hotspot. They want to complement the Ann Arbor SPARK East Incubator in downtown Ypsilanti by creating a space for more mature companies.

"We want to add to the vitality of downtown Ypsilanti," Newman says.

Source: John Newman, general manager of The Back Office Studio
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.