Coworking, coworking, coworking: No. 6 #dctech trend of 2016

As the year draws to a close we’re looking back at all that has happened in #dctech — this post is part of our 2016 year in review series. See the full list here.

D.C.’s major coworking players remained essentially the same in 2016, but boy did they make noise.
Homegrown chain MakeOffices opened big new locations on K Street and out in Clarendon. The company also hired #dctech superstar Shana Glenzer this year, and expanded into Chicago and Philadelphia.
NYC’s coworking giant WeWork opened new locations on K Street, off 14th Street at Manhattan Laundry and next to the White House with Metropolitan Square. The latter space is unique in its size — and reflects some talk we’ve heard this year about coworking being what the future of the work place looks like.
D.C.’s cove, meanwhile, made some adjustments to its business model and shut down a location that doesn’t fit. 2016 was also a year in which cove raised some money.
Oh and don’t think we’re done with this coworking roundup just because we’ve covered the major players. 2016 also saw some interesting innovation in the space — yoga coworking and restaurant coworking, for example.
With all these options, how’s an entrepreneur to decide? Well wouldn’t ya know 2016 saw at least a couple of companies arrive to help with this dilemma. SwingSpace makes it easy to look comparatively at coworking, flex office space and more, while NYC-based Croissant is sort of like ClassPass for coworking.
WeWork announced plans for yet another new space in the Navy Yard in 2017 and, not to be left out, Brooklyn-based company The Yard is coming to D.C. in the new year, too. So, buckle up: All indications point to another busy year ahead in this space.