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In DC? Need a remote workspace? Here’s your 2022 coworking guide

Yes, coworking looks a little different than it did in 2019, but there are still a ton of spaces thriving in the DMV for all of your remote work needs.

Flex workpace at The Mark, located in Shaw. (Courtesy photo)

This editorial article is a part of What Local Means Now Month of Technical.ly's 2022 editorial calendar.

Editor's note: This guide will be updated periodically.
With their beers and coffees on tap, glass conference rooms and team-building activities, coworking spots have become almost synonymous with startups over the past few decades.

Picking the right workspace is an important decision, right alongside company names and where to find seed funding, for founders as they grow.

But when the world shut down in March of 2020, coworking, too, needed to evolve. In 2021, we saw DC-based companies seeking flexibility as they returned to in-person and coworking spots honing their community-building benefits. Even the federal government is trying to break into the talent retention game via coworking.

Some have even triumphed through the pandemic and its inevitable losses. Jeffrey Herrell, managing director of Anacostia coworking spot The Hive 2.0, told Technical.ly that the space actually gained members over the last two years.

“Like so many others, all of our programming moved online, where we saw increased numbers of attendance compared with pre-pandemic in-person workshops,” Herrell said, noting that The Hive 2.0 is located in both a Historically Underutilized Business (HUB) Zone and an Enterprise Zone. “Many of our members seek specific certifications tied to the location. So, that definitely helped with member retention.”

The same has been true for DC’s The Gathering Spot (TGS), which specializes in creating a community through offerings including a restaurant and event space alongside coworking. A TGS rep said that while the coworking option has seen lots of growth since its opening a year ago, there’s also been a lot of interest in TGS’s content creation space for videos and company headshots.

“Even in a pandemic, people long for connection and The Gathering Spot serves many purposes in addition to providing a physical workspace,” the spokesperson said. “On any given day, our workspace is full of people from different industries working together and networking with one another. It’s what we love to see and what we hope to happen in our workspace.”

With the rise of personal office space in coworking spots, virtual memberships and increased cleaning schedules, coworking is alive and well. It just looks a little different. As you ponder your working options for 2022, we rounded up 23 spaces in the DMV for you to choose from.

In what turned out to be a somewhat tragically timed move, we last gave you a coworking guide in December 2019. But while the days of wanting to be physically close to as many people as possible might be a thing of the past — hello, private offices within coworking spots — there are still plenty of options around.

BTW, if you notice a few who made it into our 2020 guide but are missing now, we don’t have to tell you that some spaces didn’t survive the pandemic (pour out a complimentary espresso shot for the 1776 DC location). A few have also moved programming exclusively online, including Inclusive Innovation Incubator, and others remain undecided about whether or not they’ll be back post-pandemic. But let us know at dc@technical.ly if there’s a space we’ve missed.

Without further ado, here are your 2022 coworking spots:

District Digs

  • AdvantEdge — This space, which has been around since 1988, has two locations in DC. Its L Street option is a designated HUBZone, which means it’s got preferential access to opportunities in federal procurement.
  • Bond Collective The national chain opened up a DC spot on H Street in Q1 of 2021. The new location is pet-friendly and features amenities like a mother’s room and even showers to help you out before heading to happy hour.
  • Carr Workspaces  Carr has seven workspaces in the district and offers a “work from home” plan that gives you access to a business address and other tools without needing to be physically in the space.

  • Convene  This national chain has a DC location downtown and offers perks like “Farm to Desk” meals for your team, made by Convene’s executive chefs and featuring local ingredients.
  • DC Workeries  Created through a partnership with WorkChew, Verizon and the DowntownDC Business Improvement District (BID), DC Workeries is a coworking initiative to create outside spaces for founders and employees. We haven’t gotten confirmation if this will be back in 2022, due to the whole “it’s winter” thing, but it’s something to keep in mind for the warmer months ahead.

DC Workeries’ outdoor coworking space at Eaton House. (Courtesy photo)

  • District Offices  District has four locations in DC with private and virtual offices on top of coworking, plus monthly events and administration services.
  • Hera Hub  The national incubator and coworking space exclusively serves women founders and features programming and events every month for its 450+ members. The space is also designed to be a spa-like environment.
  • The Hive 2.0 The Hive, which notes that it’s the only coworking space east of the river, actually grew over the pandemic and is working on adding new desks for this summer. It also tries to keep costs down to make the space more accessible to its founders, and Herrell said the majority of its businesses are women and BIPOC-owned.
  • The Gathering Spot The membership club’s DC spot offers event space, a restaurant and bar and community-building opportunities on top of its work stations for members. It hosts spaces in DC, Atlanta and LA, with more on the way.

Workspace at membership club The Gathering Spot. (Courtesy photo)

  • The Mark  This space, established in 2021, has three locations in Northwest DC with workstations starting at $350 monthly.
  • Metro Offices The woman-owned coworking spot, which has been around since 1989, has tons of locations across the DMV, plus virtual office options.
  • Mindspace  This space on K Street features a rooftop lounge and proximity to tons of downtown spots, along with traditional coworking amenities. The Tel Aviv coworking company broke into the US market a few years ago and made DC one of its first spots.

The house was packed at Mindspace DC for the 2019 Technical.ly Awards ceremony. (Technical.ly file photo)

  • OpenGovHub OpenGovHub was created as a space for open government organizations that support the ideals of transparency, accountability and civic participation. The downtown coworking spot recently moved into a new location at 1100 13th St. NW that features two outdoor terraces and 178 desks.
  • Premiere Workspaces On top of its two spots in the district, Premiere has coworking options in 12 other states with flexible options like short-term leases and the ability to easily scale down on your workspace size.
  • Regus The national chain has nine locations in DC, with options to book spots daily, monthly or even hourly. Certain passes also include airport lounge access.
  • Spaces Spaces has six, well, spaces around the DMV with access to virtual office options, coworking and the ability to book meeting rooms as you need them.

  • WorkChew This DC company has a unique spin on coworking, offering workspaces at local bars, cafes and hotels as they’re available, plus discounts on food and drink options.
  • The Yards Located in Eastern Market, this space has private and shared workspaces plus a rooftop lounge to catch a breather during the workday.

NoVa Notables

  • MakeOffices The coworking chain, with a network of spaces in both the DMV and Philadelphia, features amenities like free fresh fruit, relaxation rooms and assistance with your startup. Its DC space also offers a podcasting membership for a few hundred bucks a month.
  • O2 — Created in fall 2020, this outdoor coworking option is a hybrid workspace featuring wifi and portable blankets and heaters. The outdoor spot from the Rosslyn Business Improvement District is available year-round.

Rosslyn BID’s O2 outdoor coworking space, fall 2020. (Courtesy photo by Dan Swartz)

  • Two Birds With spaces in Tenleytown and Alexandria, Two Birds is a hybrid childcare and coworking spot designed for working parents.
  • WeWork You know ’em, you may or may not love ’em, but the national coworking giant has 13 locations in and around DC, Maryland and Virginia.

WeWork’s K Street space in DC. (Courtesy photo)

Made in Maryland

  • I/O Spaces This Silver Spring, Maryland spot is designed for BIPOC founders and hosts coworking options, event space and studio space for media production.
  • Industrious This national chain has 12 locations around the DMV and features a fitness center and dining options, as well as traditional coworking amenities.

Adjoa Poku, a software engineer, presents during a meetup at I/O Spaces (Courtesy photo)

Companies: Mindspace / The Yard: Space to Work / I/O Spaces / Hera Hub DC / OpenGovHub / Eastern Foundry / The Hive / MakeOffices / Industrious / WeWork / Verizon
Series: What Local Means Now Month 2022
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