The Tribune

By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

A newly-launched western New Providence co-working space was 30 percent booked when it opened on Wednesday, its principal told Tribune Business.

Levin Wilson, Access Office Groups president and managing director, said of the $3m facility: “We have three levels of membership. The first level we have is for $175, where you have an open membership to come inside and you will be able to work at any open desk.

“The next up is our 10 by 10 office space, and it is our goal to provide quality office space for small and medium-sized businesses. They go for $1,200 a month, and you have access to all utilities. It has desks for two persons, but you can actually manage up to three desks and we have 70 of these all together.

“Then we have boardrooms. There are four of them, with a small and large one on each floor. You can book these through our app, and each member has a certain amount of credits every month where they can book a boardroom.”

The two-storey complex has a dining area, café and an outside patio for persons that want to work outdoors. It will also be open 24/7 and, once someone has membership, they have access round-the-clock.

Mr Wilson said: “It took us a few million to get this out of the ground - close to $3m - because we wanted to have a state-of-the-art facility. The thing is we designed it to be a community. We have more print stations upstairs, and we also have private phone booths for persons that want to have private conversations. We have four bathrooms altogether”

“We have registered already an accounting firm, a few lawyers, an aviation company and a hedge fund. It’s a diverse group of businesses, and then there is a hotel developer in here as well that has a few spaces in here.

“We also have a café area. We are not encouraging people to have food and refrigerators in their office, so we made a kitchen area where members can sit down and have lunch, use the microwave, grab coffee, store the stuff in the refrigerator,” he added.

“We are the biggest co-working space in The Bahamas right now, and our goal is getting our offices filled up. Then our focus is going to be member engagement, creating events and opportunities for our members.”

Access Office Groups has already held several events at its facilities, including a pop-up shop this past weekend, which has been “very effective” for driving membership outside of social media marketing.