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Date: 4/12/2021
HOLYOKE – A coworker space in Holyoke is helping people continue their work throughout the pandemic while keeping them safe.
Denis Luzuriaga who owns the building on 164 Race St. and established Cubit Coworks with his brother, said the space first opened in November of 2019. This, he said, gave them a bit of time to welcome members and establish the space prior to the coronavirus pandemic, which first affected the Western Massachusetts area in March of 2020.
Luzuriaga said they opened the space “somewhat organically” and “didn’t do heavy promotion.” Immediately after opening, he said, there was interest from those who simply wanted a space and a desk to work. “We were getting interest right away. There was immediate interest in the private offices, a lot of people would come in and say I don’t understand the open desk, I just want an office,” he said.
He explained that the space was made up of “quite a few” private offices and a large open desk area. The concept, he said, was simple. “You sign up, pay as you go, connect to the wi-fi and start working,” he said.
When establishing the business and building the model for Cubit Coworks, he felt like there was nothing like it in the lower Pioneer Valley area, despite the fact that there was a lot of office space available. However, he said the office space was a commitment and expense not a lot of people wanted to take on.
“I think in Holyoke and surrounding areas seem to have a lot of office space, quite a bit actually. A lot of big, empty studios or rooms. They’re the traditional, if you’re interested in the space you sign a three-year lease, if you need any kind of improvements the landlord does that,” he said. “It’s a big commitment and a lot of people are just starters or individuals or freelancers. That long term commitment, it’s just not really possible.”
The coworking space, he said, is the exact opposite of a longterm commitment with members signing up, paying month to month and having the flexibility of low startup costs without a long term obligation. “We already knew the cowering model is the exact opposite. You can sign up for a month and if you don’t like it, cancel,” he said. “You can move right in, you can bring your laptop, whatever you need for work.”
He said the closest and most similar coworking space was Amherst Coworks in Amherst. Luzuriaga said he and his brother found Amherst Coworks to be most similar to how they wanted to model their business. “It seemed like there was nothing in the area like that, we built it and sure enough they came. We definitely did look at Amherst Coworks, that kind of seemed to be the closest to what we wanted to do,” he said. “It seemed like they were successful, we paid them many visits and asked them a ton of questions.”
Luzuriaga said when the pandemic first impacted the area, it changed the way they had to structure their space. He said while they didn’t officially close their doors, they paused new memberships for a little while. “We didn’t officially close, but we weren’t taking any new members. Interest continued in these private offices during the pandemic, they all filled up,” he said.
He said “sometime last year” they began taking new memberships again. “We expanded somewhat, filled those four offices up,” he said, adding that memberships in the open desk spaces has been a “slow interest.”
Those utilizing the offices and coworking spaces, he said, included a wide range of professions and careers. Some industries he’s seen taking advantage of the coworker space include healthcare related industries, marketing companies, financial services, freelancers, programmers, staffing services, cannabis related firms such as accounting and creative people such as photographers or videographers. “It’s really all ages, small companies and in fact in the case of the healthcare members they are part of the local branch of their company. They’re like a five to six person team that services the needs of this part of Western Mass.,” he said.
Throughout the pandemic, he said, they followed both the guidelines set forth by both the state and CDC as soon as they were released. “Around this time last year, we started asking people to wear masks. It was kind of loose, but at one point it became obvious, especially when it was mandated,” he said. “When someone was not wearing it or it was around their neck I made sure to enforce it.”
Additionally, he said they built barriers between desks that were side by side and across from each other. He said they were designed with intentionality and design. However, he said companies in private offices often had their own policies and procedures which were enforced.
Throughout the pandemic, Luzuriaga said he and his brother who also rent out residential apartments above the coworking space, said they let the residents use the space throughout the pandemic. While they were always allowed to use the space on weekend and after hours “as a perk,” he said they began letting residents use the space anytime they wanted. This, he said, has continued even today.
More information on memberships costs and coworking benefits can be found on their website at https://www.cubitcoworks.com.