UPDATE: A previous version of this story reported Spaces Station at East 54 may be closing due to its parent company filing for bankruptcy. Spaces Station remains open and continues to operate amid the pandemic. This article and its headline has been updated to reflect this information.
The coronavirus pandemic continues to change how businesses operate and the ability for people to work remotely. The mix of those two aspects has created a major impact on the industry of coworking space, which is the practice of different companies sharing one office space.
The Perch Coworking studios in Carrboro became the latest of such office space to permanently close, as the company left its West Main Street building at the end of August.
“We will miss our members so much,” the company wrote on its website. “Thank you for your dedication and support these last few months.”
While the company has now relocated to Pittsboro, it is not the only coworking business to see challenges during the spread of COVID-19. Around the same time as Perch Coworking closed, the parent company which owns the Spaces Station At East 54 in Chapel Hill filed for bankruptcy.
Despite this, the business’ three stories of coworking office space continues to be open, with Spaces Station having no plan in its future to close despite the filing by RGN Group Holdings LLC.
Carrboro Mayor Lydia Lavelle recently brought up Perch’s challenges amid the pandemic during a conversation with 97.9 The Hill’s Aaron Keck. She said in a broad view, she does not believe the coronavirus will impact long-term economic development visions for bringing such businesses to the town.
“If anything, I think that once there is a vaccine and people are able to re-engage again,” described Lavelle. “I think we’ll treasure time like [in-person working] more than ever. I don’t think this means that everyone will move to remote working and not be around people.”
The mayor said there’s a chance companies will evaluate their operations and decide having people work remotely is a better option for efficiency. Another lesson could be companies knowing their operations may need to quickly shift at any time. But Lavelle said, to her, there will likely be a happy medium developed of in-person work and entirely online.
“I think we’ll have some kind of hybrid, in that we will still want coworking space,” she said. “Right now, we don’t at all and Perch is one of the businesses in Carrboro that didn’t make it because people don’t want to be in close proximity to others. But I think once we have a vaccine and we’re able to be around each other again, I think that will be back.”
Photo via Perch Coworking Studios.
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