WATERVILLE — A workspace in which people from different companies and businesses work alongside each other in a shared location could be coming to downtown, city and state leaders said.

Officials on Monday met at the Mid-Maine Chamber of Commerce to discuss opening a co-location workplace, office space that is open to individuals and entrepreneurs. Attendees at Monday’s forum included Waterville city officials, leaders of local colleges, and real estate developers and legislators, including Senate Democratic Leader Justin Alfond, of Portland.

The arrangement allows people who might otherwise be working from home the amenities of an office — high speed Internet, a quiet workplace, conference space and a place to meet clients — as well as the chance to socialize and work collaboratively with others.

“Creativity and innovation are the hallmarks of the kind of change people want to see in Waterville right now,” said Nate Rudy, executive director of Waterville Creates!, a nonprofit group that has focused on collaborative relationships among the city’s arts groups.

“I think the great things about a project like this is that it provides just that,” Rudy said. “I think the time is right now. What’s great about this is that it models great property ownership and it attracts people who are skilled and or well educated.”

Rudy helped spearhead a similar project in Gardiner, Co-Lab, three years ago when he was economic and community development director of that city. He left that job for his post at Waterville Creates! in December.

The proposal comes amid other statewide efforts, said Alfond, who is sponsoring a bill that would provide state funding for co-location workplaces. The bill, L.R. 812, “An Act to Attract Young Entrepreneurs to the State,” would provide grants of up to $25,000 for the creation of co-location workplaces, Alfond said. The money would come from a $250,000 pool within the state’s Department of Economic and Community Development.

Leaders met Monday with Patrick Roche, the founder and director of Think Tank Coworking, a Portland-based co-working facility with locations in Portland and Yarmouth. Roche said he is interested in expanding the company’s reach by working with local leaders to develop a co-working location in Waterville.

“Workplaces like this are kind of developing out of necessity, because of the way people are working,” Roche said. “The remote workforce, the untethered workforce is on the rise. More people are being cut loose from their parent companies and they’re being asked to work from home. They’re expected to work from coffee shops, but that doesn’t always work for people, so they’re looking for these co-working facilities, shared office spaces to satisfy their social and professional needs.”

Roche started Think Tank in 2010, and the company now has about 200 members at its two locations, Roche said. There are different types of memberships, including “floating memberships,” in which members can drop in and use the space, or they can pay extra for a designated desk or private office.

Some examples of current members include consultants, nonprofits, web marketing firms and architects, Roche said.

“These co-working spaces ultimately become catalysts for the revitalization of downtown districts,” Roche said. “You are very quickly populating your downtown with talented people who are investing in the community, who are buying coffee and shopping at your local boutiques.”

Several members of the Waterville community said they liked the idea.

“This is something that can really ignite the creative community here,” said Rob Baldacci, a broker for the Baldacci Real Estate Group, which manages the Hathaway Creative Center in Waterville. “Right now that talent is hidden in homes and coffee shops.”

Brian Clark, assistant to Colby College President David Greene, said the co-location workplace could be an attractive place for the spouse of a faculty member at Colby College looking for a place to work. It could also be a place for Colby and other area colleges, including Thomas College in Waterville and Kennebec Valley Community College in Fairfield, to form partnerships, he said.

“We want creative people to be in our communities,” Alfond said. “We’ve all heard about the brain drain. We’ve all talked about Maine being one of the oldest states, and I think we leave it too much to chance on whether people relocate to Maine or stay in Maine.”

Rachel Ohm — 612-2368

rohm@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @rachel_ohm

Related Stories