Colorado coworking company plans to franchise 11 centers in NC, including 3 in Triangle

The Triangle is getting more coworking centers.

Colorado-based Office Evolution has granted Raleigh couple Tara and Greg Abernathy franchise rights to develop three coworking centers in the Triangle. The first is up and running at 4801 Glenwood Ave.

The 6,500 square foot space has 25 offices, a community kitchen, a business lounge and two conference rooms with space for about 10 people.

“Raleigh is a terrific place for them to do this,” said Office Evolution spokesperson Melodye Demastus. “It’s got a great business climate. The Triangle area has both great tech hubs and a lot of entrepreneurs.”

Office Evolution will join a host of coworking companies that have opened in the Triangle in recent years. Those include the homegrown HQ Raleigh, which started in 2012 and has since expanded to Greensboro, and WeWork, a New York-based company that will be leasing space in the 10-story One Glenwood office tower when it opens in 2019 and One City Center in Durham this fall.

The coworking spaces are popular with small businesses that want to commit to years-long building leases, startups who want to work in a more entrepreneurial atmosphere and freelance workers who don’t have a permanent office.

At Office Evolution, small business executives and entrepreneurs can sign up for the office space using several packages that also include mailing and telephone services along with administrative support. They can rent by the hour, day or month, in addition to longer-term leases. Demastus said that unlike some coworking companies, Office Evolution has a business center manager who can assist with administrative tasks.

“They are hyper focused on making sure the business professionals have everything they need to be successful,” Demastus said.

The company plans to open 11 centers throughout Raleigh, Greensboro and Charlotte and has about 125 franchises throughout the country.

The company began franchising in 2012 after opening seven business centers in the Denver area. They were named the number four top new franchise in 2017 by Entrepreneur Magazine.

Demastus said Office Evolution members can use any of the company’s spaces nationwide.

“If you’re a member in Raleigh and traveling to meetings, you can go and use facilities there and meet with your clients,” she said.

The Abernathy’s previously opened a Kids ‘R’ Kids Learning Academy franchise in Clayton. Before this, Tara Abernathy worked the McDonald’s for 25 years, rising to regional operations department head based in Raleigh. Greg Abernathy had engineering management positions at several companies, including Motorola, Ericsson, Flextronics, and Sony. He has been a manufacturing and quality engineering consultant for the past nine years.

“Raleigh is home to a vibrant, growing community of small businesses, tech start-ups and entrepreneurs that will benefit from the great space and services that we offer,” Tara Abernathy said.

According to an annual workforce report by MBO Partners, the number of solo workers and consultants in the U.S. will have increased 50 percent between 2011 and 2018 to 24 million.

“It’s been the nature of the economy over the last few years, and what has come to fruition from that is people who are looking to start their own businesses,” Abernathy said.

This story was originally published March 30, 2018 at 4:28 PM with the headline "Colorado coworking company plans to franchise 11 centers in NC, including 3 in Triangle."