Mainebiz

V O L . X X V I I N O. I I I C O M M E R C I A L D E V E L O P M E N T F O C U S P H O T O / T I M G R E E N WAY Marc Feldman, director of Think Tank Coworking in Biddeford, says the Pepperell Mill space became a community and he misses it. F E B R UA R Y 8 , 2 0 2 1 12 Coworking at a crossroads C oworking was gaining trac- tion across the state in 2019, including support from the state it hadn't had before. But like so many other things that were gaining traction in 2019, 2020 was a huge brick wall. Now those who run coworking spaces from York to Aroostook county are wait- ing to see if the vacuum of empty office space sucks up the state's pandemic- fleeing new residents. ey say it's about more than just a business, but a loss of a community and culture that was becom- ing part of the state's economic fabric. "COVID's had an impact," says Marc Feldman, director of ink Tank in Biddeford. On a recent Zoom call with Mainebiz he sits in front of a background that shows an obviously pre-pandemic group of ink Tank members sitting around a large table, talking and laughing. "e people in that picture, they're not here anymore," Feldman says. While private offices at the Pepperell Mill site are in hot demand, the "floating members," coworking's bread and butter, are no longer around. "We need density, we need people. ey're the stability [of coworking]." And while he, like many of the state's coworking owners, sees a future with the new residents flocking to the state, he worries something will still be lost. In the five years ink Tank has been in the space, "we've become a family." Sean Ireland, of Windward Develop- ment, agrees. Ireland is one of the devel- opers of Union + Co., which opened in Bath in May 2019. e 14,000-square- foot space combines private offices, art studios and event space. "We had happy hours, we had events, we had lunch-and-learns," Ireland says. "at has been more dif- ficult to do, it's been more difficult to maintain that community culture. But our members miss it, they want it, and they can't wait to have it back." But on the midcoast, where office inventory is lower and the needs of residents are different, he's not as wor- ried as Feldman. He adds, "We're expecting an enormous summer." We need density, we need people. They're the stability [of coworking]. — Marc Feldman Think Tank Biddeford Coworking spaces had just found their stride and then the pandemic hit B y M a u r e e n M i l l i k e n

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