Bikeable coworking space opens in Bentonville
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You can now take biking to work to the next level — literally, all the way up to your office floor.
What's happening: The Ledger, a much-anticipated coworking space, is up and running in downtown Bentonville. One of the six-story, 230,000-square-feet building's hallmarks is its zigzag bikeway that runs up the exterior, capitalizing on the region's biking culture.
The big picture: Coworking spaces like this allow for an anything-goes office environment — day passes, memberships for people who want a dedicated remote workplace, and a variety of rentable office spaces and meeting rooms for businesses to operate out of or host meetings.
- Yes, and: A collection of coworking spaces exists in NWA, but the market is far from saturated.
Remote workers, who operate without an official office, can come to work and mingle with other professionals in a mixed-use environment.
- The Ledger includes amenities such as: A game room, wellness room for meditation, coffee and food from Bentonville-based Airship Coffee, multiple outdoor patios, a bar, free bike maintenance from Vittoria — and showers.
- The business also plans to host events and allow private functions, Mary Best, who's on Ledger's operations and community team, tells Axios.
State of play: Of 48 office spaces of various sizes, 45 are already leased, Best said. Tenants may rent month-to-month. And one unnamed tenant has rented out the entire fourth floor.
- The sixth floor, which includes a bar and patio, isn't quite ready and is expected to open in February.
Details: Artwork by 45 local artists, including prints, murals, sculptures and more, is featured throughout the building. Installations of colorful bugs carrying gems by Stefan Sagmeister are sprinkled around, including a larger work on an outdoor patio that spells out "Now is better" with gems.
- All 13 "critters" are found in the Ozarks. "They are all carrying these gems, and you think the gem is the most important thing, but it's actually the work the gem is doing to build something bigger," Best said. "It's an ethos to the Ozark critters building something bigger than themselves, and it’s now better."
How it works: Regular memberships that include general access to any of the flexible spaces are $450 a month. Members can work in private phone booths or various open areas. For $600, members can have their own dedicated desks.
- A day pass is $40.