OLD BUSINESS  6.

COMMITTEE MEMORANDUM

HISTORY:

This item was referred to the Finance and Citywide Projects Committee by at the April 11, 2018 City Commission Meeting and further discussed at the Finance and Citywide Projects Committee on April 20, 2018.

Recently, the City of Miami partnered with WeWork, a coworking company, for marketing and promotions for the discounts offered by WeWork within said locations to better support local business entities and entrepreneurs based and/or who have relocated to Miami. This partnership allows businesses to take part in a reduced monthly fee which encourages them to continue their business in Miami. 

The City of Miami Beach is currently examining creative programming and partnerships to help nurture and grow our local economy and foster a culture of entrepreneurship. Currently, there are two WeWork centers in South Beach as well as Buro another type of coworking center in Sunset Harbor. 

Recently, the Commission approved a Small Business Taskforce that will help address small business needs and identify new concepts for support the Miami Beach business community. This Taskforce is still pending final Commission appointees, and has not yet launched meetings.

ANALYSIS:

City Staff has been in communication with WeWork to understand  partnership opportunities with the City of Miami Beach and how we can utilize the WeWork services for support of our local small business community. WeWork is interested in offering a similar discount program at the two South Beach coworking spaces. 

Concurrently, Staff is working with WeWork to help identify other potential areas in which to launch on Miami Beach, including North Beach and the 41st Street Corridor.

There are many different coworking spaces and models represented in the South Florida region. A majority of coworking spaces share the same financial model: monthly membership fees based upon usage of the space (dedicated desk, private office space, drop-in and on-the-go). However, there are industry specific models along with nonprofit coworking spaces that cater specifically to philanthropic and socially conscious entities. Below is a brief summary of some of the coworking spaces in Miami Dade County and their unique offerings. Currently, only Buro and WeWork are represented in the City of Miami Beach. 

Nonprofit/Socially Focused:

Center for Social Change

Tedge Mindful 

EcoTech Visions 

Innovation and  Technology: 

Cambridge Innovation Center (CIC)

The Lab

The Building 

Design, Art, Creative Makers:

Moonlighter

MADE at the Citadel

Miami Ironside 

Traditional Business Development:

Pipeline 

Buro 

WeWork 

As the shared work space trend continues to evolve and grow, new business models are emerging throughout the Country. In New York City, a new coworking company named Spacious has recently started to explore how they can activate and use restaurants during daytime hours that are typically only open at night as office space.  University libraries along with public libraries have also begun to explore building in coworking and maker spaces into their facilities that would allow residents and students to use them at a reduced or free rate. 

CONCLUSION:
The Administration is seeking direction regarding providing marketing and promotions support for WeWork and other coworking entities.