New Orleans’ newest shared workspace is ‘beta’ than working from a coffee shop

Beta Shared Workspace opened this week in the CBD. (Photo by Emily Ardoin)

Design, creativity, and professionalism come together at beta Shared Workspace, New Orleans’ newest professional workspace, which opened this week in the Central Business District. Developed specifically to drive like-minded individuals rather than industry-specific entrepreneurs, the space integrates sophisticated, modern design into one of the city’s oldest buildings to capture an encompassing concept of the “new New Orleans.”

Located on the second floor of the newly renovated Maritime Building, beta caters to today’s generation of entrepreneurs, freelancers, and overall renaissance individuals in New Orleans with an architecturally attractive space that’s designed to drive the city’s ambitious professionals and creatives. Beta is designed to create an atmosphere that fosters creative energy, yet still give each of its tenants enough privacy for professionalism, with 20 dedicated workstations and eight private offices.

Beta is a project developed and anchored by Wisznia | Architecture and Development, a local practice that has merged real estate and design in developing several multi-use apartment buildings in the city. With that same concept, its newest property, Maritime, offers nine floors of luxury apartments and two floors of commercial space that includes Merchant, The Occasional Wife, and beta, as well as the firm’s own offices.

The workspace was inspired as a means to encourage the city’s entrepreneurs and independent

Some of beta’s amenities include a kitchen with individual pantries and communal areas. (Photo by Emily Ardoin)

contractors to compartmentalize their work lives from their home lives by providing each with a professional space that can be used as an executive base of operations, rather than jumping from one coffee shop to another or turning a second bedroom into an office. However, with the central location, amenities, and attention to detail, beta tenants get more than just a desk and chair.

With the workspace built out from the ground up, the developers were able to meet the specific needs of the city’s entrepreneurs, and create a space with higher design standards than most other work spaces in the country.

Beta’s work spaces include a kitchen area with individual pantries, shared communal areas, and large windows that provide a view of the streetcar line on Carondelet and plenty of sunlight. Materials, workstations and furniture by innovative design company Knoll were used to provide both design and functionality features for beta’s tenants.

Individual workstations contain a spacious desk, ergonomic chair and lockable cabinetry. In addition to a standard two-drawer filing cabinet, each station also features a smaller cabinet that doubles as a pedestal for guests, complete with a cushion for comfort.

The eight private offices are made of translucent materials to allow light from the building’s large windows to flush in, and include desks, chairs, and cabinetry as well as the option to add extra chairs for a small fee.

Tenants will have access to beta’s multi-media conference room. (Photo by Emily Ardoin)

Each entrepreneur is included on beta’s website and provided with a name plaque for the workspace or office. Traditional office amenities include high-speed Wi-Fi, wireless printing, a document and printing station, and a multi-media conference room that can be booked on an as-needed basis. In addition, the beta tenants will have access to the building’s rooftop pool, gym, locker rooms, and saunas during the day.

Because most beta tenants work beyond the traditional 9-to-5 office hours, each tenant will have access to the doorman building 24/7.

Creative energy is a main goal for beta, and that mission is applied to all aspects of the building. Maritime tenants Merchant and local organizational-products business Occasional Wife have become strategic partners in the project. The tenants will have access to on-site services from Occasional Wife, and Merchant will provide Italian coffee illy as well as discounts and catering packages designed for beta tenants.

“Interaction builds creativity,” says Marcel Wisznie, “and we want to provide our tenants with that type of environment.”

Beta’s tenants represent a range of high-energy professionals, including Zydeco Media, New Orleans Fashion Council, and Circa Innovations. To learn more about beta Shared Workspace, visit www.betaneworleans.com, or contact Tabitha Skrobarczyk at (504) 681-6183.

Adriana Lopez writes about the entrepreneurial community for NolaVie and Silicon Bayou News. She also showcases local start-ups through her non-profit organization GenNOLA. For more information on NolaVie, go to nolavie.com.