Selected Pop Up Office tenants will receive a short-term lease option for downtown office space, a small stipend to help offset startup costs, as well as professional services support from the volunteer team. Interested business owners should fill out an application, which can be done online at activatedspaces.org, or downloaded and emailed to Jen Cadieux at cadieux@downtowndayton.org. The application deadline is 5 p.m. Friday, August 25.
This round of the Pop Up Office Project will host up to three companies in recently renovated space on the eighth floor of Liberty Tower (120 W. Second St.). The Activated Spaces team has partnered with the ownership at Liberty Tower to remodel a traditional office suite into an open, non-traditional, collaborative space. Project supporter Business Furniture has kindly loaned office furniture to outfit the space, as well as donated their time for space planning and layout of the Pop Up Office.
Started in 2011, the Activated Spaces Pop Up Shop Project has launched 24 new businesses (15 of which stayed open past their initial pop up period), filled approximately 21,000 SF of previously vacant space, and created 41 jobs. As this program continues to celebrate success, volunteers looked at other ways to continue to support downtown's revitalization. Thus far, Activated Spaces has been focused on activating first floor, retail space by providing tenants with a short-term lease and below market value lease rates. Now the program will also activate office space through a shared office model.
Since 2011, more than 120 startups have launched downtown. Several recent initiatives and projects are building on this momentum, including Start Downtown, Dayton Startup Week, the plans for the Dayton Arcade, and partnerships between The Entrepreneurs Center, the Air Force Research Lab, and the Wright Brothers Institute. The Pop Up Office Project is envisioned as another resource that will help provide a supportive environment for the growing downtown startup community.
The Activated Spaces Pop Up Project is driven by volunteers from the young professional organizations UpDayton and Generation Dayton, with support from the Downtown Dayton Partnership and other community volunteers. Activated Spaces is part of the Greater Downtown Dayton Plan, a strategic blueprint for the future of downtown.
Those interested in volunteering with Activated Spaces should e-mail activatedspaces@gmail.com.