After the success of the company’s first coworking space in the Great Oaks office park off Route 20, Rosenblum has opened a second location of Hone CoWorks, at 187 Wolf Road. The 14,000-square-foot space is on the third floor, where the University at Albany’s Center for Technology in Government rented space until April 2021. Rosenblum has owned the building and three others nearby since 2016.
Coworks are on a spectrum from casual open spaces to those that more traditional office environments. Hone is on the more formal end. Most of the space is made up of furnished private offices and there’s a community manager who greets visitors, helps members manage technology and makes introductions. Company principal Jeff Mirel calls the concept “office meets hospitality.”
Hone on Wolf Road has 58 private offices that can accommodate from one to nine people. Membership starts at $625 per month and includes snacks and coffee, showers, parking, Internet access, office supplies and free printing.
Mirel said when Rosenblum bought the collection of buildings in 2016, it was a strategic decision because of the location. The location is also desirable for coworking because of the proximity to the highway and the airport. Open since February, it still smells new, and a varied color palette flows through the space designed by interior designer Valerie De La Cruz.
Matthew Nelson, an employee of the commercial mortgage lender Berkadia, chose Hone Wolf Road because of its location. He drives in from his home in Columbia County two or three days a week and occasionally works from home when he is not traveling. His Hone office features two screens, a standing and a sitting desk.
Industries represented at Hone include real estate development, banking, finance, green power, legal, human resources and software engineering.
There are numerous coworks in the Capital Region – Bull Moose, Pallette, Expansive and Beahive to name a few – but Mirel said there is still room for growth in the market.
“As a percentage of office space, there is less here than other markets in the country,” Mirel said.
Hone CoWorks is offering a founders special in March. Members who sign up for a year get 20% off and monthly memberships are buy one, get one. Outside of the special, all memberships are month-to-month. Hone offers both private offices and coworking space.