CAPITAL COWORK
Troy coworking space to expand into Albany
ALBANY, N.Y. » Twelve years ago, Tom Nardacci created the public relations agency, Gramercy Communications, and then last year he created a coworking space in downtown Troy. Now, he is already planning out his next business adventures.
Nardacci created and opened the Troy Innovation Garage on Fourth Street in downtown Troy last year for creative entrepreneurs to cowork.
“I think that things are going really well here in Troy. We’ve been finalizing the physical improvements in the building and now we are now focused on the exterior improvements here,” explained Nardacci. “We will have a new awning installed and our lighting and things like that to just maintain the historical character of the building and that is probably about $150,000 worth of improvements.” With final finishing touches happening at the innovation garage and with the garage incubator coworking space being successful so far, Nardacci decided now is the right time to open additional coworking spaces around the Capital Region and outside area.
Nardacci said that his next coworking space, known as the Bull Moose Club, will be located in downtown Albany, at 150 State St., directly across from the state Capital building.
“In my travels last year, when I looked at 40 or 50 coworking spaces around the country, and I just saw that the spaces that were really successful had really well defined themes and target markets,” said Nardacci. “I really wanted to look around the Capital Region and see if I could do other spaces in other places around the region, partially to help the members of the Troy Innovation Garage because if someone is a member of one space then they could access all of them, so I am actually looking at six or seven different opportunities for spaces right now.”
Nardacci said that he wanted one of those possible incubator coworking spaces to be as close to the state Capital building as possible.
“I’m a history buff and have always been interested in history, and Teddy Roosevelt has a special place in New York State history, and I think that this brand will appeal to all party affiliations’,” said Nardacci. “The Bull Moose Club, the colors are going to be like a bright purple, and if you think about it red and blue makes purple, so I was trying to think of something to use for every kind of partisan. This will be a place for change-makers and change-makers can come from either side of the aisle.”
Nardacci said that he sees the target audience for the Bull Moose Club as lobbyists, businesses and people who have to do business in Albany.
“I have worked in downtown Albany for a number of years and I think that there is a real need for this,” said Nardacci.
Nardacci said the new co-working space will be somewhere between 6,000 and 8,000 square-feet and he said that the new club will be an over $1 million investment. 3T Architects will be performing some of the work at the new club in Albany and Nardacci expects to begin construction sometime in August and then have a soft-opening in November and be in full effect before next year’s legislative session.
“There will be about 20 or so office suites, we will have six meeting rooms and we will have a large conference room and there will be one big open coworking space similar to the Troy Innovation Garage,” said Nardacci.
Nardacci said that he is looking at all of these other opportunities now because for a few different reasons.
“This is a business that I like and enjoy and want to continue to grow it if I can and I think there is more need of flexible work spaces in the Capital Region and I think it would be beneficial if they were all linked,” said Nardacci.
Nardacci said other future plans for coworking spaces includes a possible partnership with the Saratoga County Prosperity Partnership to actively look for a space in Saratoga to open.
“That space would be geared towards the semiconductors economy,” said Nardacci. “I have Troy as a creative economy, Albany is the political economy and Saratoga could be the semiconductors economy.”