Co-working space set to open in Carmel as firm seeks more franchisees

A 15-year-old company that provides co-working spaces is opening its first Indiana location with a space in Carmel and plans to expand further into the Indianapolis area.

Office Evolution plans to open its Carmel location on Sept. 5 at 550 Congressional Blvd.

Colorado-based Office Evolution was founded in 2003, offering co-working office space to small business owners and startups. Since then, the company has expanded to 25 states.

The company built and operated seven business centers across central Colorado before beginning to franchise in 2012. To date, Office Evolution has awarded 129 franchise locations.

In Carmel, the Office Evolution space will be about 5,700 square feet within the larger, three-story building at 550 Congressional Blvd. It will offer shared workspaces and 20 private offices, as well as conference space that can be rented.

The space can accommodate between 50 and 70 people at a time. Carmel residents Kristina and Brian Monson are the office’s owners, as Office Evolution franchisees.

Carmel already has a handful of co-working space providers. Platform 24 opened in 2017 with a 10,000-square-foot offering at 12400 Meridian St., for example.

Memberships at Office Evolution facilities are flexible. People looking for a place to work can use the space for a day, a month, six months or longer, Kristina Monson said.

Shared office space memberships start at $99 a month. Dedicated work spaces, such as a desk, start at $349. A private office costs about $600 a month, the website shows.

One of the benefits of having an Office Evolution membership is that members are able to work at any Office Evolution space, Office Evolution founder and CEO Mark Hemmeter said. The offices are accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

He hopes to find more franchisees to open Office Evolution spaces throughout the Indianapolis area. In the next few years, he hopes to see as many as five open in the market.

The startup cost for an Office Evolution franchise ranges from $288,000 to $853,000, according to the company’s website. Candidates should have $300,000 in liquid capital and a net worth of $750,000.