Co-working pioneer chooses Purdue for first university location

The leading US co-working company, Carr Workplaces, is no stranger to setting trends and trying new things. The networking business is behind many highly sought after spaces in some of the country’s biggest cities and economic hubs, giving digital nomads and hardworking entrepreneurs a space to get to business and expand their professional horizons.

Their spaces have been listed in the 10 best co-working spaces in Manhattan – no small feat – and named in Technical.ly’s guide to co-working spaces in the capital, Washington DC. In March, they made their mark on Los Angeles, taking over a 24,000 sq foot space in a downtown office block.

Having excelled in the co-working space, Carr is looking for a new challenge. And they’ve found an innovative kindred spirit to collaborate with on the new project.

Indiana’s Purdue University is set to become the home of Carr’s very first university-based co-working entrepreneur and innovation hub.

The company plans to create a hub where businesses, startups, entrepreneurs, and innovators can come together and take advantage of Purdue’s world-class facilities to help them grow their empire.

The new university co-working hub will occupy 20,000 sq feet of space in the Convergence Center for Innovation and Collaboration at Purdue’s Discovery Park District. The facility will be within walking distance of the university’s research centres, allowing companies to be in direct contact with more than 2,000 faculty and more than 43,000 undergraduate and graduate students across a range of fields.

“Carr Workplaces has a long history of providing concierge-level service to entrepreneurs, so it’s natural that we support innovation in a university environment,” President of Carr Workplaces, Austin Flajser, said in a statement.

“With Purdue’s international reputation for research and entrepreneurship, it’s a perfect fit for our company.”

Carr Workplaces says it will house more than 80 private offices, workspace and meeting rooms, as well as support services for tenants on all five floors of the innovation centre.

Convergence is set to open in 2020 and will serve as the grand gateway to the US$1 billion-plus Discovery Park District, designed to provide an exceptional environment for educational, economic, cultural, community and real estate development.

At the heart of the development will be Carr’s latest offering, perfectly positioned to help the next generation of budding entrepreneurs.

“Providing a variety of space and placemaking alternatives is an important element to attracting a vibrant mix of companies and startups as well as individual entrepreneurs and innovators,” said David Broecker, chief innovation and collaboration officer for Purdue Research Foundation.