Coworking space opening at 51 Elm this fall

LACONIA — Remote working opportunities are largely still prevalent after pandemic restrictions waned, with workers enjoying the flexibility, freedom and independence that comes with being untethered from a central office. But many, despite the mobility, have missed the social aspect, as well as practical benefits such as internet capacity and quiet meeting rooms, a dedicated office provides.

Jodie Gallant, who has run the marketing-agency-meets-business-coaching venture JMG Business Strategies for the past 11 years, was one of the latter group. During the pandemic, her company went remote and Gallant pivoted to a home office. As time passed, she found herself “yearning for community” and for having a dedicated work location.

This led Gallant to return to an idea she first had in 2014 — during the first wave of a boom in co-working — to create a co-working space in the Lakes Region. WORK Lakes Region will offer flexible memberships, private offices, meeting rooms and business workshops, and is set to open in Lakeport’s 51 Elm this fall.

One of the only co-working offices in the state outside of southern New Hampshire, WORK will embody a growing expansion of such spaces in the settling post-pandemic professional landscape.

“Knowing that didn't exist, but there was a demand and an interest for it,” Gallant was confident she could craft “a sweet spot that I think would work not only for me, but for other leaders and business owners and entrepreneurs within the Lakes Region community.”

The pandemic brought more full-time and seasonal residents to the Lakes Region — many of whom work remotely or hybrid, Gallant said. Having a flexible but quiet office space as well as a venue to have meetings lends crucial infrastructure to a growing community of professionals in the area. 

“We can see that there's more people living [here] year-round, and commuting and working from a hybrid home-office space, and I think that there’s also a huge amount of startup businesses and entrepreneurs that are looking for collaboration and a place to gather,” Gallant said. Doing that work from a noisy home, summer cabin or coffee shop is often less than ideal. “They don't necessarily want to work at camp when everyone's having fun outside and they're sitting at the table at their computer.”

Co-working spaces, Gallant continued, can also support students who learn remotely by giving them a quiet place with secure, high-speed internet to work in, attend class or give presentations. It also offers a space for young people to network with local professionals.

Outside their infrastructural benefits, co-working spaces offer local remote and hybrid working professionals a sense of camaraderie, work-life balance and further flexibility to their day-to-day work habits without the commitments of in-person work, Gallant described. 

WORK Lakes Region will have a bookable conference room, 13 dedicated private office desk spaces and about 10 “hot desks” in a quiet group space that can be reserved for “as short as an hour and as long as months.” There will also be a drop-in co-working space that will be more casual and conversational. Memberships at WORK will be flexible based on the needs and the timeline of each individual.

“Someone could be there for an hour or two for a meeting once a month or someone could be there, you know, five days a week for six months,” Gallant said. This ability to tailor will “allow people to self-serve a need for space and perform their work obligations.”

Gallant will also bring professional workshops to the WORK space, but emphasized that the co-working mission will be in the driver's seat for how space is shared.

WORK Lakes Region is among the first commercial tenants announced for Lakeport’s 51 Elm development, one of several projects in the neighborhood by developer Scott Everett.