Phelan Development is planning to open a new micro co-working space on Milwaukee’s East Side called Work Lofts.
The 3,700-square-foot space, slated to open June 4, is located at 2140 N. Prospect Ave., on the second floor. It is above the new Kanpai 2 restaurant, in the building that formerly housed Izumi’s.
“We took a traditional office space and redeveloped it into a co-working space,” said Sean Phelan, owner of Phelan Development, who purchased the building in 2015.
Work Lofts will have a 16-person communal work table in the center of the space ($175 per month), surrounded by a work room with 12 custom work stations ($275 per month) and four private offices ($1,000 per month), Phelan said. All memberships come with 24/7 controlled access to two huddle spaces, two conference rooms, a full kitchen, Colectivo beverages, wireless internet, printing and video conferencing technology.
“There’s a whole bunch of different things going on that we thought was exciting,” Phelan said. “First of all, just the whole notion of how people work today is changing. You have entrepreneurs, independent professionals, small business owners, startups, remote workers – all these people that don’t work in a traditional office environment.”
Phelan said Work Lofts is located within walking distance of the planned Crossroads Collective food hall, two grocery stores, and a number of bars and restaurants. It’s also near a lot of housing and is on the Oak Leaf bike trail, with a Bublr Bikes station across the street.
“We felt that the space really lent itself to a micro co-working type of environment because of all of those things,” he said. “We see a need and there isn’t a co-working space like this on the East Side.”
The developer said he doesn’t see Work Lofts competing with the other co-working spaces in town, including the new Spaces development announced this week at 1433 N. Water St.
“I would say that we’re in a bit of a different market than the Spaces project,” Phelan said. “We’re, I would say, more of a boutique-type space. All of our furniture is custom for the space. We’re really focused on added amenities, really making it a bespoke offering.”
