The term co-worker is taking on a whole new meaning in the Hub, and for some, the days of working closely in cubicles is crumbling.
GeekHouse Bike founder Marty Walsh is moving his Allston shop into a portion of HeadQuarters Boston, a 25,000-square-foot space in the city’s Innovation District, and renting out the rest to interested entrepreneurs and local manufacturers.
“Being able to work around other businesses — they innovate faster when they are in a common space or network,” said Walsh, manager of HQ Boston.
The massive operation will house 15 businesses total, said Walsh, from small handicrafting shops to medium scale semi-industrial facilities, allowing start-ups to feed off of each other’s creativity.
Walsh said he struggled to find an adequate habitat in the city to expand his custom bike-building shop.
Supplying space for local businesses to co-exist, while housing GeekHouse’s own operations, was the perfect solution, he said.
At HQ Boston, Walsh said he would be working alongside furniture and snowboard manufacturers, visual artists and Web designers.
“We will also have our own center gallery to do our own shows or collaborative shows,” said Walsh.
Each business will have a walled-off section with a key and private door, but will open into a courtyard gallery.
There will also be a centralized community room to chat and share ideas.
A grand opening is slated for later this year.
On the Fringe
Walsh was inspired by locations like Somerville’s Fringe, a 4,400-square-foot “creative business incubator” and co-working space in Union Square, home to letterpress printing, Web design and branding.
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