Connecting Community and Coworking

COhatch Opening in September

The “Prothonotary Warbler’’ may not be the first thing you consider when you think of a new office space coming to Westerville, but this cavity-nesting bird’s habitat at Hoover Reservoir was one of the many Westerville-based design inspirations in COhatch’s newest space on South State Street. The Warbler is featured in mural form in one of the many meeting spaces in the facility.

Located in the former Armory building, COhatch, a local coworking collaborative, has paid homage to Westerville’s past, present and future in their new facility at 240 S. State St. The 2.3-acre campus features coworking and private office spaces, an event venue, and a unique partnership with North High Brewing that includes a restaurant and brew pub.

In the design of the space, special attention was paid to reusing tiles, bricks, doors and windows from the Armory building as part of the design of the space.

But what exactly is COhatch, and what is coworking? Madison McHugh, Operations and Development Manager for COhatch, explains Westerville’s newest way to work.

Tell us about Cohatch. COhatch is a community hall 2.0. Most people call us a coworking space or shared office space. We are actually a local network of coworking and lifestyle spaces, tools, and amenities that help people thrive at work and in all parts of their lives. What we offer is best explained through our tagline, “Work, Meet, Live.”

The pandemic introduced us to thinking differently about workspaces. What is coworking in your definition? A coworking space is a shared professional working space where monthly fees are paid to use a common work area. Coworking spaces foster a sense of community and networking events and are ideal for start-ups, remote workers, and nonprofits. We try to engineer collisions of people here so they can help each other thrive. Two people grabbing coffee at the same time can spark a conversation that can lead to something great for their business.

How can the Westerville workforce, residents and visitors get involved? In addition to monthly memberships, COhatch also offers day passes; businesses and nonprofits can rent their own private office space inside the facility; and community members can rent community spaces without membership. COhatch also administers a program called “Impact,” offering scholarships for coworking and office space for local 501(c)3 organizations, minority and women-owned businesses and other local organizations.

What makes the Westerville COhatch location different from other locations? It comes down to the community connection.

On the technology front, COhatch has utilized the WeConnect Data Center to integrate fiber-based internet and WiFi into the space. The Westerville location is the only location to utilize a service like this. Businesses renting office space at COhatch can also purchase data storage at WeConnect, a perk not offered elsewhere.

This location also features the largest outdoor space of any COhatch location. We will offer everything from bocce ball courts to fire pits and furniture, outdoor movie screens, bike repair stations, an integrated bike path and walkable gardens. We wanted to complement Westerville’s tradition of outdoor recreation and park space.

How do you view COhatch connecting with its community in Westerville? The COhatch Westerville team is still getting glimpses into how important community connections are in Westerville.

As we’ve given more tours, we have met individuals who actually used to work here when it was the Armory, which is really cool. We will be utilizing some of the photos they have in the decor.

The team at COhatch is eagerly awaiting the opening of the new facility and serving as a hub for the Westerville community.