Zionsville co-working center zWorks gears up for expansion

Less than three years after opening in Zionsville, entrepreneurial and co-working center zWorks is on the verge of its first expansion.
 
An extension called zWorks on Pine is scheduled to open April 12 at 75 E. Pine St., about two blocks from the center’s main location in a former firehouse at 85 E. Cedar St.
 
The 1,700-square-foot space, previously occupied by Next Level CPA Group, contains three offices for startups and five meeting rooms.

The new facility is expected to help the not-for-profit organization keep up with demand for collaborative and meeting space from its membership, which has grown from 50 to more than 200 since its founding.
 
Demand is so great that the existing 3,200-square-foot center is using a waiting list and all three startup offices in the annex facility are already taken.

The new facility “is not meant to replicate the original zW, but rather provide more of what members need—more closed-door areas for team-building, brainstorming, meetings and projects,” zWorks officials said.

Home-sharing platform Try It Tiny LLC, founded by Maggie Daniels in 2016; career guidance service Apprenace LLC, started by Chris Hoyt in 2016; and biomedical firm Pave Medical, founded by Debb Beck, are set to take the startup offices in the expansion space.

"We have seen a huge demand for the flexible work/meeting/startup space in Zionsville,"  said zWorks Executive Director Kate Swanson in an email to IBJ. "As a non-profit and a 501(c)(3), it is gratifying to see our mission serving as an economic development tool succeeding. We are bringing startups and entrepreneurs to Zionsville, which in turn adds to the vitality and energy of our village."

Swanson, who became zWorks executive director in January 2017, didn't rule out future expansions if demand grows. 

"We think the new expansion space, zWorks on Pine, is a perfect fit right now," she said. "With co-working, it is difficult to know exactly your capacity for membership because every day is different around zWorks. We are committed to providing a great work environment for our members and will continue to evolve to meet our membership needs and desires."

zWorks opened in early 2015 after the Zionsville Town Council provided $10,000 to a team of organizers who thought the town needed a co-working and entrepreneurial center.

The team was headed by zWorks Board President Dan Moyers, a former practice manager at KSM Consulting LLC. Other cofounders included commercial real estate executive John Demaree, former Zionsville Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Julie Johns-Cole and Purdue Research Foundation vice president Chad Pittman.
 
Also involved in the founding were AT&T Indiana President Bill Soards, Fanimation CEO Nathan Frampton, former Zionsville Town Council President Jeff Papa and Speak Easy Board President Andy Clark.
 
Several zWorks member companies have “graduated” and gone on the larger spaces, including Clear Software LLC, 120WaterAudit LLC, WorkHere LLC, PoliticalBank LLC, Boosterville Inc. and GS Sports Ventures LLC.

zWorks also partners with the Speak Easy, which operates multiple co-working spaces around the Indianapolis area.