By Louise Carpenter

The Grand Opening of Workbar Union took place last Thursday with Mayor Curtatone and representatives of US2 in attendance.

Elected officials, local business owners, and members of the public gathered at the former Elegant Furniture building on Thursday, November 12 for the grand opening of Workbar Union, the new co-working location founded by Union Square master developer US2 and Boston-based co-working network Workbar.

The shared workspace promises to be a collaboration center for 75 local workers and will be connected to a community of over 1000 workers and 11 other spaces throughout metro Boston. Members will have access to all the amenities typical in a professional office, including fast and secure wifi internet access, audio and video equipment, conference rooms, printer, scanner and, of course, bottomless fair trade coffee and snacks.

Workbar Union is the realization of an idea originally developed by the US2 team during the competition to select the master developer for Union Square, and is an early step the developer is taking toward the city goal of making Union Square into a “regional employment center.” US2 was responsible for leasing the space, which had been vacant for nearly nine months, initiating the partnership with Workbar, and investing in the infrastructure improvements to create Workbar Union.

Karczewski believes the co-working space will help prime the pump for local economic growth by giving entrepreneurs, start ups and independent professionals a place to operate while growing their business. Drawing more workers into Union Square will also bring more daytime activity to downtown, meaning more business for local shops, cafes and restaurants. The space will also be a venue for various community events and business forums.

“US2 is committed to Somerville’s goal of making Union Square into a regional employment center, and Workbar Union is an ideal first step to stimulate the local employment market,” said Karczewski. “We were especially drawn to Workbar because of their culture of community building both inside and outside their walls.”

Mayor Joseph Curtatone was on hand to cut the ribbon and deliver remarks congratulating the US2 and Workbar teams for bringing Workbar Union to Somerville, and applauding US2’s initiative to make Union Square into an employment center. He was joined by members of the Board of Aldermen and Union Square Civic Advisory Committee.

Workbar founder and CEO Bill Jacobson said he was excited to extend the Workbar Network to Somerville and specifically to Union Square.
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“At Workbar, we pride ourselves in the sense of community that our members say inspires creativity and collaboration,” said Jacobson. “That community ethic is at the core of Union Square, and we are excited to be a part of it.”

Workbar Union will also play host to US2’s headquarters where a full-time employee will be on hand to answer questions from the public about US2’s role in the planned redevelopment of Union Square. Until now, US2 has been working out of Workbar’s Cambridge location, which inspired Karczewski’s idea to bring Workbar to Union Square.

Workbar Union had a soft launch in October, drawing scores of people who took advantage of a week’s worth of free use of the facility.