Building devoted to co-working space opens in Makati
INTERNATIONAL Workplace Group (IWG) recently opened Spaces in Arnaiz Makati, which it described as the country’s first co-working space that occupies an entire building.
“About this location, obviously we got a whole building. It’s very unique to get a whole building. To be at the ground floor gives visibility and accessibility. This is the essence of what co-working should look like,” Lars Wittig, Spaces country manager for Philippines, Vietnam, and Cambodia, told reporters during the launch on Feb. 20.
Located along Antonio Arnaiz Avenue, the Spaces hub has five floors, including a roof deck and underground parking area.
Each level has 450 square meters of floor area. On the first floor, there is a community area with desks for about 35 people, a phone booth, meeting rooms and an inhouse cafe, Little Flour.
The second and third floors both have private offices that can accommodate two to more than 30 people, depending on the size and setup of the room. The fourth floor is targeted to be occupied by only one company. Each floor has its own pantry.
The Scandinavian design-inspired hub is also close to malls, restaurants, hotels and other offices in the Makati central business district.
“It is the second (Spaces) location here... This one, like our first one, is meeting all my criteria... What are critical when choosing a location for a major co-working hub? To me, ground zero for major co-working is that it is very close to shopping, to restaurants, to hotels,” Mr. Wittig said.
“It has to be a place where people love to walk even on a Sunday... it has to be an area that attracts people,” he added.
Mr. Wittig said Spaces Arnaiz Makati is currently 34% occupied after a month of operation.
“That’s the essence here. You come in and join the community... We do not only attract millennials, we do not attract only startups. We have that perfect balance because you want to have a community that can learn from each other. You want to increase your productivity with exposure,” he said.
Mr. Wittig said the company is open to expanding Spaces outside of Metro Manila, depending on demand.
“Right now, my... mandate is to meet the demand of the markets, and that demand for flexible workspace coming to us is growing with close to 40%... in the Philippines. Globally and in the Philippines this industry is growing with about 30%,” he said.
“I would say for now I’m really looking forward to open the first in... Cebu, Davao. I’m looking forward to that.”
Founded in 2006 in Amsterdam, its parent company IWG also operates Regus, No18, OpenOffice, Basepoint Business Centers, and Signature. —