Photograph courtesy of Somadome
Coworking spaces, long synonymous with a certain brand of 2010s start-up culture, haven’t looked the same since the pandemic. The shared office model has largely survived by heading in two directions. The first, a go-wide approach, offers remote tech workers and laptop-wielding entrepreneurs flexible use of individual desks and office space. In this camp are such companies as Switchyards and Atlanta Tech Village, which recently opened a second location in the new South Downtown “innovation district.”
The other direction is to go deep. In a bid to attract workers who aren’t seduced by the traditional model or whose businesses run on more than laptops, a new crop of coworking companies are dangling niche amenities, specialized resources, and professional support to tempt them through the door.
Some coworking spaces offer unique perks that you wouldn’t find at a traditional “hot-desk” option. “We want to bring remote workers the best of both worlds,” says Suzanne Cypert of Wello Works, a coworking space that offers wellness perks like hydromassage chairs and meditation pods. “You don’t even have to come in and work. You can just use the treatments. It’s like a coworking membership and spa, two for one.”
Photograph courtesy of Shift
Other coworking spaces are experimenting with flexible workspace for people whose jobs demand more hardware than a single laptop. Shift, a coworking and costorage space, markets itself to entrepreneurs looking to scale their businesses without renting an entire warehouse or shipping facility. “We know how intimidating it is to jump from filling Etsy orders on your kitchen table to leasing commercial warehouse space,” says Josh Koterba, director of marketing and experience. Shift offers traditional coworking features plus private warehouses, loading docks, and content studios for photographing products.
Team Rubicon, a veteran-founded humanitarian nonprofit, has configured its Shift warehouse space into disaster-relief headquarters to support its work assisting victims of Hurricane Helene. “It’s great to have everything here,” says Shift CEO Alex Woodard. “Even the trucks parked at the bays outside are ready to go.”
CareSpace offers an even more niche coworking option, designed for private-practice medical and mental health professionals. To get the concept off the ground, founders Carmen and Lu Almos had to adhere to strict state and federal regulations governing medical facilities. “Cobb County came out to measure within millimeters that our ramp was ADA-compliant,” says Carmen. “We’ve already built those relationships and dealt with that red tape.”
To further reduce costs for private practitioners, CareSpace provides shared resources such as vaccine fridges and front-desk administrators, as well as office rooms furnished for medical or mental health practices. “It’s tough to be in private practice,” she says. “We want to help ease the burden of entrepreneurship.”
Photograph courtesy of Epistamai
Nakita Robinson, founder of the therapy coworking space Therapists Coworking by Epistamai, also wanted to provide professionals with more than just square footage. “In school, you learn to be a therapist, not how to run a therapy business,” Robinson says. She was drawn to the sense of community of coworking spaces but couldn’t find one that would provide the privacy she needed for seeing clients. So she created her own: a set of soundproofed offices, connected by common areas and a shared waiting room.
The comfortable, private therapy rooms are designed to support in-person practice, not just remote sessions. “Telehealth still has a space after the pandemic, but for a lot of people, it’s time to get out of isolation,” Robinson says. That’s as true for practitioners as it is for their clients: At Epistamai, solo providers can connect with colleagues in the coworking space’s shared common areas. “Even therapists need a place to vent after a tough day at work,” she says.
This article appears in our March 2025 issue.
