Benjamin’s Desk: Naval officer Michael Maher launching corporate coworking in Center City [video walk thru]

Pricing on Benjamin's Desk coworking options.

A Juicy Couture and an upscale nail salon wouldn’t seem to be likely building mates for a soon-to-be coworking space, but a trio in Rittenhouse say they are in the process of building Benjamin’s Desk into just that sort of space.

Michael and Jennifer Maher and their co-founder Mike Goldstein have plans to offer 32 open desks, three private offices and six permanent desks to both short-term and longer-term members across a variety of industries looking for office space in Center City starting this April.

Unlike other Philly-based coworking spaces — like, most prominently, Indy Hall — the Mahers and Goldstein hope Benjamin’s Desk will differentiate itself by offering a more corporate environment that includes a range of business services, including tactical business consulting, mail services and private phone lines.

“We look at ourselves as a hybrid,” said Michael, an active duty Naval Officer, adding that he expects to house a mix of tech startups and independent service providers who want the flexibility and collaboration of coworking but a more traditional workplace setting.

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IndyViews Video: member testimonials from Indy Hall, largest Philadelphia coworking community

Members of Indy Hall all seem to agree that what makes the Old City coworking space so great is, to summarize, themselves. That’s the takeaway from “IndyViews,” a rough cut of Indy Hall member interviews conducted as part of an introspective analysis of its impact.

An earlier draft of the report was released in July, without the video accompaniment, which is the first step in a new effort by the four-year-old coworking scene to brand its impact. More on that effort will be announced next month, said Indy Hall co-founder Alex Hillman.

“The people here are the best around,” said freelance designer Johnny Bilotta, who is also one half of the “Two Guys on Beer” podcast. “The people that come here and stay here and contribute to it, they’re second to none in Philadelphia as far as I’m concerned.”

From the beginning, co-founders Hillman and Geoff DiMasi have made great pains to stress that Indy Hall is less a building and more, to use their feel-good word of choice, “a community,” which they say is a testament to their growing success.

Cliff Stevens, serial entrepreneur and CEO of startup Lokadot, called Indy Hall a “people platform” and, based on this series of nearly a dozen interviews, his description is apt.

Check out the early video, produced by Real Arts Media, above to hear more about what members say makes Indy Hall a hotbed for all kinds of creative-types, technology and otherwise, in Old City.

3rd Ward Philadelphia: Brooklyn coworking space expanding summer 2012 to 1227 N Fourth Street in Kensington

Brooklyn coworking space 3rd Ward is launching in Kensington at 1227 N. Fourth Street, just above Girard Avenue, the organization’s Development Director Mindy Koopmans told Technically Philly. It is planned to open in summer 2012.

3rd Ward, named for the municipal legislative division in which its headquarters sits, opened in Brooklyn in September 2005. 3rd Ward Philadelphia will, confusingly enough, be in Philadelphia’s 18th ward. This city’s 3rd ward is in West Philly. This new coworking space would be within walking distance of the cohousing project from Independents Hall.

Philebrity first posted locally on the move, though Technically Philly has now confirmed the address. Metro followed up further with more details here. The New York Times arts blog also covered the news here. Join the coworking space’s mailing list here.

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Alex Hillman: ‘I want Philadelphia to outlast other cities,’ a Q&A with Indy Hall co-founder four years later

Photo by Chris Sembrot.

Alex Hillman partied last night.

If Technically Philly were to suggest that Hillman was celebrating the anniversary of a building, he probably wouldn’t like that very much. Last night, the co-founder of Old City coworking haunt Independents Hall was at Frankford Hall in Fishtown with more than 100 other members of a community celebrating four years of formal partnership.

In 2007, Hillman and P’unk Ave co-founder Geoff Di Masi brought together a cast of freelance web developers, software programmers, graphic designers and their ilk to put an end to home office isolation and bring about greater collaboration and creativity. Thus was born the affectionately nicknamed Indy Hall. Four years later, the community has grown, as has Hillman — to full blown entrepreneur, handling a few roles aside from community architect.

Hillman, a week into his 28th year, came to Philadelphia in 2002 by way of Drexel University, after growing up “on 18 acres between corn and horse farms an hour north of here that surely pushed me to be a city boy.” He went to Drexel for the co-op program but even that couldn’t keep him, dropping out three years into the program to start work on his own.

Now, in addition to Indy Hall fame, he has helped build business strategy for ChoiceShirts.com, is working with web services shop Wildbit and is one of two behind creative directory WeWorkinPhilly, which could see some partnership with Technically Philly.

After years of coverage, Technically Philly grabbed Hillman for our first Q&A, talking to the Hellertown, Pa. native about coworking, business and what his plans are for his future.

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Indy Hall celebrates its four year anniversary today

Old City coworking stalwart Independents Hall is celebrating its fourth anniversary today.

Co-founder Alex Hillman shares the process on his blog here.

Look for our Q&A with Hillman tomorrow. Tonight, if you thought ahead and reserved your spot, hit up the community’s celebration party at Frankford Hall in Fishtown. Details here.

Jarvus Innovations: Northern Liberties web development firm grows up

Updated, Fri., Aug. 26, 3:10 p.m.: Added detail that Indy Hall’s Alex Hillman is a partner in Dynamic Wear.

Before the sun rises on North Third Street, just south of Liberty Lands Park, one can spot delivery trucks in front of a local bakery.

It’s a scene reminiscent of Philadelphia’s past, and a reminder of industry that was active before white collar jobs began taking root in places other than Center City, like Old City and Northern Liberties.

One of those companies is Jarv.us Innovations, a small, private web development firm that has been renting office space at a rehabbed, former glass-blowing studio just down the street from the bakery, and it’s contributing to a growing movement of young workers that is interested in changing how business works.

The firm is the anchor tenant of the space, which it rents to partner companies and freelancers under branding that represents its collaborative workspace: “Devnuts.” What Devnuts means literally is that they’re nuts about web development. Figuratively, Devnuts is the mission of the collaborative inhabitants: actionably trying to change business and workplace culture.

The Devnuts model is not unfamiliar to coworking facilities like Old City’s Independents Hall: by making desks available to anyone — for a fee, of course — minds can meld and talents combine.

We’ve written about the organizations in the past — Jarvus and Devnuts — but it’s worth another look to see how the organizations are growing. Can this culture shift support strong commerce?

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IndyViews: Independents Hall report on coworking members

Old City coworking space Independents Hall has released its first research project called IndyViews, what co-founder Alex Hillman calls “a compilation of experience and worldview personas from within our membership.”

Download the report here [PDF].

Hillman describes the motivation behind project, which was conducted by Valerie Wilcox:

We’re always introspective, but we do it most when we’re thinking about growth. The house project put us into that mode, and the original goal was to produce something to help with the house. What we ended up with was some reinforcement of goals and values, which are the tools we use for hard decision making around growth efforts. Especially with the complexities of the house, I see this as an extremely valuable set of tools to have freshly renewed.

Also, we’re headed into a redesign of our branding and our website, putting a heavy heavy focus on “member stories” as the primary method of communicating Indy Hall. This research project reinforced that the stories members tell are the most compelling, and they’re so consistant with our “planned” marketing message that we want them to take center stage. It’s a complicated and kinda risky project to pull off, but I think the result is going to be fantastic.

Finally, I personally think that more coworking spaces should be conducting their own research. We’re going to publish our research framework to try to spur more things like this from other coworking crews.

Indy Hall and Postgreen: “We’re building a house”

A rendering of the common area facade, facing West on Howard St.

The principles of collaboration and shared place that helped launch Old City coworking space Independents Hall are planned to be used in a new co-housing venture in Kensington, announced one of the founder’s at a Philly Tech Week event.

Indy Hall and Postgreem Homes, the sustainably-minded development company noted for its 100k House project, will build a multi-residency unit on a currently unused lot on the 1700-block of Howard Street near Front Street in East Kensington. Planned for six independent units of 500-600 square feet, the structure will feature 2,500 square feet of common space, like the one visualized above, that will be a place for collaboration.

“This is about bringing the ideas behind coworking and continuing to introduce them to new people, in new ways and in new environments,” says Indy Hall co-founder Alex Hillman. He announced the initiative publicly with his co-founder Geoff DiMasi at Monday night’s Junto on Rethinking Shelter, a Philly Tech Week event.

Find more details here. Currently, the coalition is seeking those interested in renting, buying, investing and getting involved otherwise. If interested, get connected here.

Though units will be available for purchase in a condominium-like style, Indy Hall plans to own at least one unit for short-term rentals to feature the flow of individuals that its coworking space features.

Details are still being configured but, like other Postgreen projects, this will have a sustainable focus and Postgreen and Indy Hall will have some longer-term partnership. The initial residents will be ‘cultivated,’ says Hillman, who is one confirmed resident, though “the goal is not for us to design and build this in a bubble.”

“We want to be a part of building a broader community,” Hillman says. “We think this is a great way to do this now and more in the future.”

Friday Q&A: Paul Amess and Laurence Banville of Alliance Equals

When businessman Paul Amess and litigator Laurence Banville describe how they arrived in Philadelphia, they often have to whip out a globe.

Amess, a 25 year-old Englishman, and Banville, a 25 year-old Irishman, have traveled extensively around the world including stops in Brussels, Dublin and Alabama before finally meeting in Philadelphia and founding Alliance Equals.

Launching this month, Alliance Equals is a hybrid of a coworking space – where members can pay a fee for a desk or even a large room to serve as a home office – and an incubator – where Amess and Banville will receive an equity in return for office space and business help. The duo says they look to provide an “outsourced CEO” role to young companies who need marketing and legal help, especially in regards to international affairs.

“In house we’ll do a lot of the preparation and search work and that will help reduce the cost of lawyers billing $500-1000 an hour, “ says Banville.

After the jump, the duo tells us how they use the space’s giant television projector and see how their company compares to Ben Franklin Technology Partners and Indy Hall.

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OpenDesks hopes to connect traditional industries with creative independents

At the coIN loft in Wilmington, Delaware, founding member Wes Garnet says that sometimes the sell of coworking—independent workers sharing space in a collaborative environment—isn’t a sell at all.

“For some people, [collaboration] is cool, for some people it’s a turnoff,” Garnet says.

So earlier this year, when he had the opportunity to market the work space to a broader audience in traditional industries, he came across a Philadelphia startup, which is helping businesses like Garnet’s market space to folks who need a desk.

OpenDesks, led by founding partner Chris DiFonzo, is an online software platform that allows businesses to sell their free space to independent workers looking for a place to do business outside their home. [Full Disclosure: OpenDesks is a Technically Philly advertiser.]

Within 24 hours of listing coIN loft in the OpenDesks directory, Garnet says that a customer from the service reserved a desk.

“Our space was perfect for what [she] needed,” Garnet says, “and in terms of keeping bodies in the door, [OpenDesks] helps us market our raw space and raw facilities.”

It seems that the facility rental market for independent workers is growing recently, with at least one major competitor, LiquidSpace, receiving national press during South by Southwest. The company raised $1.3 million in February. DiFonzo says that though OpenDesks is still seeking funding, it’s a step ahead of competitors.

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