Co-working Space To Open at BNMC

by Alan Rosenhoch, Business Development Manager, Buffalo Niagara Enterprise

The concept that environments can invite and facilitate creative and innovative ideas is not new, but some communities taking active steps to create these environments.  Buffalo should certainly be considered in this game, particularly with phenomenal development of the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus (BNMC) over the past ten or so years.  Some people have felt that access to this exciting spatial area in downtown Buffalo was limited to high-end researchers and PhD’s, but the BNMC is determined to open the doors to as many innovative thinkers as possible.  Hence the introduction of ‘dig’, a new co-working space and community that will be located inside the Thomas R. Beecher, Jr. Innovation Center, at the heart of the medical campus.

dig – which stands for design innovation garage – provides the answer to an entrepreneur who wants to be in the thick of an innovative community, but whose resources may not permit leasing office space just yet.  The name is a double-play on the space’s location and its purpose: the space has been specifically designed in a manner that fosters an entrepreneurial and innovative culture, while its location is truly a garage, a former loading dock in the former Trico windshield wiper factory that is now the Innovation Center.  It even has a glass garage door overlooking the campus.

“One of our goals at the BNMC is to build a community of change-makers. We believe that happens through collaboration and innovation, and what better way to do that than creating a co-working space for people who work on the Medical Campus or those who want to be a part of what’s happening here,” said Patrick J. Whalen, chief operating officer of the BNMC. “dig will not only be a space to work from, but also a hub of information to help cultivate this community – hosting networking events, seminars, and community activities.”

Expertise on the design of the dig space came from faculty and graduate students of the University at Buffalo’s Department of Architecture, led by Omar Khan, chair of the department.  “To me, Buffalo is full of creative people but it lacks exciting workspaces where they can mingle and share ideas,” Khan said. “dig provides such an alternative workspace that is visually exciting and socially dynamic. It is the type of design environment where young and old can collaborate on innovative solutions to globally pressing problems.”

dig will have “entrepreneurs-in-residence” on hand during the day to help members working on various projects, as well as a dig Curator on staff to help facilitate networking among members and develop programming for the space. dig members will be “announced” when they arrive on a large screen with details about what they are working on and/or their expertise to encourage networking. The space will be outfitted with large tables and chairs, lounge-type seating with couches and chairs, space for private calls and meetings, lockers and mailboxes, and a café.

There will be an application process to join the co-work space. Anyone is eligible to apply, although membership preference will be given to those working toward social innovation. The introductory rates will range from a daily rate of $15 to all-access monthly rates of $100.

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