FreeRange opening more shared workspace sites
ABQ-based firm considers setting up a location near Shanghai later this year
Albuquerque-based FreeRange Shared Workspaces is opening its second co-working location in Nob Hill on Thursday evening and a third office already is in the works.
And the company, whose logo shows a rooster wearing an orange necktie, may also be spreading its wings in China later this year, perhaps opening near Shanghai, according to one of FreeRange’s founders.
The latest entry: FreeRange Nob Hill, 4317 Lead SE, where an open house will introduce the concept to future tenants or just the curious, said Joe Pitluck, the company CEO, who’s also a retired dentist and real estate investor. The new location, he said, targets people living nearby who are looking for alternate places to work beyond a home office, the library or places like Starbucks. Most of the people FreeRange is hoping to appeal to don’t commute very far, many walking or biking to get there.
“You’re seeing a shift in commercial real estate and the way people are working,” said Pitluck, who is planning to transform a former fitness studio and quick lube shop into FreeRange No. 3 at Tramway and Candelaria NE. A September opening is planned at the 5,000-square-foot storefront at 12701 Candelaria NE, which is being fitted out to accommodate 50 co-working folks.
FreeRange and other co-working spaces are capitalizing on a growing
gig-based workforce, where freelancers, entrepreneurs and startup types can grab desk space, hold meetings, generally get the feeling of being in an office and network with other professions — but without having to pony up the bucks for a year’s lease.
The cost for single-day pass goes for $25 and membership plans start at $99 a month. The price climbs as high as $499 per month for a private office.
FreeRange launched its first location earlier this year near UNM at Central Avenue and Pine Street SE. Other coworking spaces in town include Fat Pipe ABQ and the Simms Space, not to mention several incubators and accelerators that offer work spaces.
Now that Albuquerque co-workers have gotten a taste of FreeRange, the company is looking farther afield.
“We’re going to a global co-working conference in China this November,” said Pitluck, referring to his wife and partner, Huan Yang, who still works as a dentist. The company has a potential partner looking to open a FreeRange space in a city about 30 minutes from Shanghai, he said.
And not a moment too soon. In the Chinese zodiac, 2017 is the Year of the Rooster, FreeRange’s signature graphic symbol.