D.C. is about to be put on the map. Scratch that: this map.
The Impact Hub, which is sprouting incubator branches all around the world, is in the process of welcoming a new outpost in D.C.’s Chinatown.
In a few months, the space previously known as The Hub will transform into Impact Hub DC. The transition has been in the works since 2011 and is currently in pre-launch mode, with 150 members.
In the coming months, the space will officially open up three levels of common area and 30 individual offices. But it’s an inclusive club, explained cofounder Max Harper, so its members will be required to display certain qualities. “We’re cultivating our own world,” he said.
Impact Hub DC seeks to counter entrenched inequities by creating a diverse space.
“There’s communities that are fundamentally, systematically lessened out of opportunity,” said Harper. “The last thing we want to do is to reinvent what we created last time.”
Harper hopes to expand the workspace community to 600 members in the first year and also grow its virtual membership in D.C. to about 3,000 — a $20 per month option that includes a “global passport” to the other Impact Hubs. For access to the physical space, membership rates will range from $100 to $400 per month, with possibilities for scholarships.
Impact Hub DC already offers its space to Code for DC on the regular. It will be hosting the Rebuilding Re-entry hackathon Nov. 7-9, inaugurating the first prong of Social Labs, a program of community-building innovative projects. Located at 419 7th St. NW, the hub now consists of one floor of an airy common workspace along with side offices.
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