WeWork is moving into the University of Maryland

WeWork is once again continuing growth in the D.C. area, and this time it’s heading to campus.

On Friday, the coworking company announced its first Maryland location. It’s the latest tech and entrepreneurship–focused venture with plans to move into the University of Maryland campus in College Park.

The repurposed building near The Hotel at the University of Maryland will have 300 desks on two floors, as well as conference rooms and community areas. Maryland-based Chesapeake Realty Partners is leading the design and construction. Opening is set for this fall.

Along with marking the 12th space for the D.C. area, the move shows signs that the company wants coworking to be a part of college life. While WeWork announced a partnership with Georgetown University to create an outpost at its space near the White House last month, this will be the first WeWork on a university campus. Universities generally want to keep companies that form around, and giving them a space to work is one step toward doing so.

.@WeWork is coming to campus! Its #UMD location will be the first in Maryland & the first on any college campus in the nation https://t.co/ZhIFlUjwcW pic.twitter.com/jK43DLtKko

— Univ. of Maryland (@UofMaryland) March 30, 2018

“There is so much great talent and work coming out of UMD, and projects like the new WeWork reaffirm that College Park is ready to support our entrepreneurs as they move into the next phases of their ventures,” said Matthew Fan, co-director of UMD’s Startup Shell.

The coworking space is within UMD’s Discovery District, which is an area where officials are seeking to attract companies and other resources to colocate alongside entrepreneurs emerging from the university. Capital One and cybersecurity firm BlueVoyant previously announced plans to move into that area.