With $6.4 million of financing, a new, 27,000-square-foot coworking space with a 3,500-square-foot rooftop deck is coming to to replace the warehouse and surface parking lot at 3950 Wynkoop St. in May 2019.
The team at Rethink, a young company using a different approach to attracting coworking tenants, believes that the developing area is the perfect place for their business to grow. Unlike other coworking spaces that house a diverse spread of businesses, Rethink will focus on exclusively recruiting real estate businesses in an attempt to create a hub for Denver’s real estate industry.
“We want to really help companies within our spaces grow, and we think we can do that by the sharing of ideas and contacts and business,” said Ken Cope, founder and president of Rethink. “We want to accelerate growth in the real estate industry and try to reduce the learning curve. We want to be the epicenter of real estate in whatever city we’re in.”
According to Cope, this model of placing like-minded businesses in close proximity would be especially beneficial for those looking to get into the real estate industry, where who you know can make or break you. He sees coworking as a more modern option for today’s businesses because it doesn’t force them to make long-term projections about where they want to be located, how much space they’ll need, and how much they will be able to afford.
“I was introduced to the world of coworking a few years ago, and as a past real estate executive it made a ton of sense to me from a business perspective,” he said. “When you're a business, you don't have a whole lot of visibility to what's happening years down the road, and you’re signing a very long lease.”
IBorrow, a lending agency, helped finance Rethink's project because they too see the neighborhood as fertile ground for success.
“It's an interesting business plan and, historically, coworking locations have worked when the market is good, and they don't work when the market is bad. We like the fundamentals, and we think it will work. We like the borrowers, they’re experienced, and they are intelligent people," said Brian Good, iBorrow’s CEO. "It's just an interesting place, and I think there's room to grow there compared to other places around the country."
Along with his zeal for enacting a new, single-industry focused method of recruiting businesses for coworking spaces, Cope believes the North Wynkoop location for his new space is an emerging hub of commerce and culture in Denver, and that will serve them well in the years to come.
“I’m a Denverite myself, I’ve been here about 13 years, and the growth and transformation that's happened in RiNo is phenomenal," he said. "I don't know if I've seen an area transform as quickly as it has. There's so many wonderful options."
He noted that the current environment is just the beginning of the growth in the area and he believes this continued growth will make it an attractive place for real estate businesses going forward.
“Our specific location, we‘re right next to the 38th and Blake light rail station, so you’re one stop away from Union Station and next to the rail that goes to DIA.”
He also said that the location will be just south of the massive North Wynkoop development, which will include a music venue, food hall, hotel, a bunch of office space and housing. The World Trade Center will also be joining the area in 2020.
Correction: Due to a source error the article previously misstated the square footage of the building. It has been updated to reflect the correct amount.
