When REC Philly announced it was building a 10,000-square-foot facility in Center City back in July, the space was a shell — a blueprint of the next iteration of the org’s “gym for creators.”
But by late November, the blueprint had taken shape, just in time for a soft opening Dec. 1 and a full opening to the public Dec. 12.
It’s been five years since founders Dave Silver and Will Toms opened their original North Philly location, and about 700 members later, REC Philly now has a multi-purpose HQ with coworking space, recording studios, conference rooms, a concert venue and state-of-the art equipment.
Its front-of-house, which is accessed through the Fashion District right off of 9th and Market Streets, is a retail store featuring art, clothing, wares and merch by members and local designers. By day, mall shoppers can browse the store, but members will have after-hours access through a private entrance off of Ninth Street.
Memberships for folks who want to use the space start at $50 a month and go up to $150 for more access to perks and industry office hours. Membership also includes a number of credits which are used to reserve space in the facility’s editing, recording or meeting rooms. The membership fee also includes the ability to sell creative goods at the REC Philly retail storefront in the Fashion District mall.
“What began as a 600-square-foot location in North Philly is now expanding to a fully operating ecosystem, supporting creatives of all kinds in our community,” Silver said in July.
Members can book rooms or equipment through the organization’s app, which is the main way to stay up-to-date with other members or goings on at the facility, Silver said. Members receive a certain amount of credits depending on their level of membership, and can use them to rent space or access to editing equipment.
With the new space, the org will accept applications for up to about 1,000 members, and then will slow down a bit, Silver said.
Here’s more of what the space looked like last week:
