Bisnow – February 8, 2018

By Paula Gomprecht | February 8, 2018

Corporate Flexibility Driving Serendipity Labs, Co-Working Growth

Fresh from signing its second Atlanta lease in Alpharetta, a New York-based co-working operator is next planning to outfit the Interstate 75 corridor with up to four locations, all the way up to Cartersville — an hour northwest of Downtown Atlanta.

Serendipity Labs inked a deal for 26K SF at 100 North Point Center East, a six-story, 130K SF office building off Georgia 400 in North Fulton County. At the same time, Serendipity secured a second franchise owner in Atlanta with plans to open four locations along the I-75 spine, including in the Cumberland/Galleria area, Marietta, Kennesaw and Cartersville markets. That is on top of three more planned along Georgia 400, a company-owned venue in Midtown as well as another handful along the Interstate 85 corridor, Serendipity Labs CEO John Arenas said.

The focus on the suburbs is deliberate. Rents are cheaper than they are in the hotter, in-town office markets like Midtown and Buckhead, where Serendipity Labs is debuting at Three Alliance Center. But Arenas said the co-working firm’s main customer base — mid- to senior-level executives and small-business owners — tend to want to work closer to their homes instead of commuting into the city

“You have an individual in the suburbs who really … is a decision-maker and is confused on where he wants to work,” Arenas said. “Our brand is really not focused on the fragile tech-startup world. It’s always been a platform for trusted knowledge workers. And that’s where they live.”

Serendipity is among a host of co-working operators in Atlanta now expanding into the suburbs. And while still a fraction of the overall office market, the supply of co-working space has reached more than 1.2M SF in Atlanta, according to a recent Colliers International estimate.

Co-working is more than a fad, and the fuel underlying it has less to do with cool or splashy spaces or chatting with people from all walks of life, Cresa Atlanta principal Bob Misdom said. It has to do with corporate America’s love of flexibility.

Source, Jarred Schenke, Corporate Flexibility Driving Serendipity Labs, Co-Working Growth, Bisnow.