OK Ya’ll. It’s time to celebrate. Cowork Frederick will be ten years old in September. That alone would be enough to break out some live music, great food, and drinks. But we have even more – much, much more – to celebrate. We’re also celebrating our upcoming expansion!
In the beginning ….
We had dream of creating Frederick’s first coworking space. Like so many small biz owners, we bootstrapped Cowork Frederick, investing our own money, time, sweat, tears and, yes, even a little blood. Cowork Frederick opened its doors in 2012, after a year-long renovation of 122 E Patrick St.
Grand opening Sep 2012
At the time of our grand opening, 20 people had joined our coworking community. We’ve been celebrating each September since, with parties, charity fundraisers, even an outdoor appropriately spaced picnic lunch during the height of the pandemic. We’ll do it again – big time – this September. You definitely don’t want to miss this party!
Expansion
Fast-forward to 2018, when, with the help of our then 58 members, we made the decision to start looking for a larger space for a fairly significant expansion. Call it a blessing, a sign that the time was right, or both, but shortly thereafter the building right next door to our original locoation went up for sale.
So it was that began another extended renovation project, also self-funded. Taking on this much bigger project meant running the gauntlet of historic preservation applications to secure grants and tax credits. Then came the pandemic and the cascade of supply chain issues and price hikes.
It’s been a bit of a rough road. But, one of our declared values at Cowork Frederick is tenacity (not giving up, even when it’s hard), so what could we do but keep going? It’s now FOUR YEARS LATER, which makes seeing that bright light at the end of the tunnel feel SO GOOD!
Weathering the pandemic
I can’t continue without once again singing the praises of our awesome community of coworkers. So many members of Cowork Frederick stuck with us through the COVID-19 lock-down. Having already taken on a loan for the expansion, there’s no way we’d still be around without their loyalty. We have so much gratitude for the kindness and generosity shown to us and, through us, the rest of the Cowork Frederick community and even the City of Frederick.
10-Year Anniversary + Expansion Party
So, as I said at the start of this post, it’s time to celebrate! Join us September 7, 4-8 pm for an open house style party with live music, catered food, drink, awards and give-away’s, a tour and more. It’ll be a great way to spend a Wednesday evening.