11 Nov Kansas City Startup Village to open ‘co-working’ space
Access to Google Fiber speeds and a chance to rub shoulders with other Internet entrepreneurs will be offered by early 2015 in the Kansas City Startup Village.
A building at 4436 State Line Road that most recently housed a beauty salon is being renovated into a “co-working” and community space for early-stage business developers.
Dubbed Village Square, the building will be owned and operated by theCenter of Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Development, co-founded by Startup Village leaders Abby Tillman and Adam Arredondo. The center will be known as CEED.
Another Startup Village leader, Matthew Marcus, said purchase of the building was made possible when the Affinity Enterprise Group, a real estate, property management and insurance company, stepped forward with an offer to help the Startup Village. The company also is privately funding CEED.
Startup Village, on the Kansas City, Kan., side of the state line at 45th Street, is a collection of entrepreneurial ventures drawn to the nation’s first installation of Google Fiber Internet speed that eclipsed previously available access.
The renovated building w
ill be used to provide desk space for 18 and Internet access for appropriate startups as well as meeting space for Startup Village participants. The management team also plans to offer educational and networking events. Tillman and Arredondo also will be based there.
Arredondo said he intends to be selective about the entrepreneurs chosen to work in Village Square. Each startup will pay $300 a month for rent, access to the Internet and conference rooms.
“We want people who are passionate about developing the startup community and who will bring expertise to it,” Arredondo said. “Several people have already asked me about getting in, and I intend to be very careful about it.”
Renovations are under way by Hickory Global and Second Life Studios, which is using reclaimed building materials, such as shipping containers, to prepare the offices.
The space will be open for advance tours 2-8 p.m. Nov. 15 during the Startup Village Fall Fest. Arredondo said interested startup operators may write him at adam@ceedthefuture.com to inquire about renting space.
BY Diane Stafford, The Kansas City Star
Photo: Space for Statup Village at 4436 State Line Road is being renovated.
