Co-working company to open big office space in fast-growing area near the Blue Line

A new co-working company plans to open its second Charlotte location next year in South End, as a local developer continues repurposing older buildings for new uses.

Spaces, an Amsterdam-based company, announced plans in January for its first local location at 101 N. Tryon St., where it leased 32,000 square feet. Charlotte developer Asana Partners confirmed Tuesday that Spaces has leased 27,000 square feet at 307 W. Tremont Ave., a South End industrial building.

Asana paid $7.25 million for the property, its latest in a buying spree that's seen Asana snap up marquee buildings like the Design Center and the former Phat Burrito site. The company also bought 2116 Hawkins Street, an industrial-style office building that backs up to 307 West Tremont, for just over $9.6 million last year.

Spaces plans to open its South End location in late 2019, an Asana executive said. The site is next to a major new apartment development under construction by Pollack Shores, an Atlanta-based company building 350 apartments on the site.

Co-working, an arrangement in which companies or individuals rent spaces in shared offices, has exploded in Charlotte in recent years, with more than a dozen companies now operating. Co-working companies with locations across the nation, such as WeWork and Industrious, have opened large uptown sites, and are competing with homegrown companies like Hygge and Advent.

Following on the heels of a record apartment boom, office space is now growing rapidly in South End.

A JLL report released Monday showed the Midtown/South End area has about 1 million square feet of new office space under construction, and are also commanding the highest average rent, at more than $33 per square foot.

This story was originally published April 4, 2018 at 7:30 AM with the headline "Co-working company to open big office space in fast-growing area near the Blue Line."