This year Boxworks marks ten years on Patrick Street. Founded by Jim “Flash” Gordon, the coworking space opened in early 2016 with a simple idea: give small businesses, freelancers and start-ups a professional place to work without the cost of running their own premises. WLR FM’s Seamus Barry looked back at the decade.
Where it started
When the doors opened, Boxworks was a single floor with ten offices, several meeting rooms and 30 desks. Members got high-speed broadband, meeting rooms and the everyday facilities of a proper office, while Boxworks took care of rent, electricity, insurance and cleaning.
How it has changed
Work has changed a lot since 2016, and the space has changed with it. After COVID-19, demand moved from open-plan desks towards private space. The main floor now has refurbished pod-style offices, and the upper floor holds a 20-seat office alongside smaller offices.
A stepping stone
Businesses start small at Boxworks, grow, and move on to bigger premises, which frees up room for the next start-up. Hybrid teams use it the same way: a city-centre base for the days they need one. Cafés, restaurants and shops are on the doorstep, and the meeting spaces, podcast room and offices can be set up around what members need.
Thank you
Thank you to everyone who has worked from, met at or passed through Boxworks over the last ten years. Here’s to the next ten.
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Photo: WLR FM.