Benjamin’s Desk Expands in Center City, Old City
Popular co-working space Benjamin’s Desk is expanding.
At its newest outpost at the Curtis Center in Old City, Benjamin’s Desk signed on for an additional 9,550 square feet on the 11th floor. It already has space on the 12th floor where it runs The Bunker, a co-working space for veteran entrepreneurs. Upon completion of construction, its Curtis Center location will offer over 19,000 square feet of furnished office spaces, conference rooms, shared workspace and event spaces.
Meanwhile in Center City, the co-working space added nearly 2,5oo square feet at 1611 Walnut Street. That’s in addition to the 6,100 square feet it has at the Allman Building at 1701 Walnut Street.
“Demand from the companies at 1701 really dictated the speed of our growth,” said CEO Anthony Maher, who noted that the entire 12th floor of the Curtis Center is already sold out and that half of the 11th floor space has been pre-sold. He expects 1611 Walnut to “sell out in real time as well.”
Most of the demand comes from its existing pipeline of tenant companies. Some companies that needed just one desk a year ago now need two or three — maybe even an office.
When construction is complete, Benjamin’s Desk will boast a total footprint of nearly 28,000 square feet.
So how do they succeed where others (like The Hive, Impact Hub and Seed Philly) have been forced to close?
“We hope they feel like they’re getting more than a desk and an office,” said Maher. “They’re getting a connection to an ecosystem. We can make a connection to venture capitalist or an angel investor and make it authentic.”
Some businesses that call Benjamin’s Desk home are: GameTimeUpdates (which offers a marketing automation solution for the restaurant, bar, and beverage industries;) My Milkcrate (basically a “green Yelp” that rewards people for living more sustainably); and Momentary Ink (which lets users test drive their tattoos before actually buying them.)
It can cost as little as $99 for a desk at any location five times per month, or as much as $1,999 for its most expensive office space.
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