Coworking chain taking over former restaurant space in Circle Centre

Columbus, Ohio-based coworking chain COhatch plans to take over the former Granite City Food & Brewery space at Circle Centre Mall.

A state construction permit indicates the firm is renovating 9,580 square feet on the ground floor at the downtown Indianapolis mall for coworking, office space and a bar area.

The space, near the southeast corner of Washington and Illinois streets, was previously leased by Granite City before the restaurant closed in August 2019 amid financial problems.

When reached Thursday, a spokesperson for COhatch confirmed plans for the location but declined further comment, indicating details would be shared in the coming weeks.

The lease is COhatch’s second with Circle Centre landlord Simon Property Group. The firm announced last year plans for a 7,000-square-foot coworking space at Simon’s Hamilton Town Center in Noblesville, scheduled to open sometime in 2020.

Cohatch also plans to convert an 18,000-square-foot church in Broad Ripple into a coworking center with open desk space, office areas and conference rooms.

Cohatch, which has six locations in Ohio with four others on the way, was co-founded by Matt Davis in 2016 in a former hardware store in Worthington, Ohio.

The company offers coworking memberships ranging from $59 to $399 per month. It offers space to individuals, small businesses, startups and not-for-profits that do not have a need for larger office areas.

The firm said in July 2019 it plans to open 10 Indianapolis-area locations over the next five years.

Columbus, Ohio firm WSA Studio is the designer on the project.

Simon Property did not immediately return a call requesting comment.

When it signed a 10-year lease for the space in June 2012, Granite City agreed to pay $17,500 in monthly rent for the first five years and $18,454 per month for the next five.