DURHAM – The Mothership, a merger of Mercury Studio and The Makery, is Durham’s longest-running coworking community. But after June, it will close, the organization’s founders, Megan Bowser, Katie DeConto, and Krista Anne Nordgren are announcing today.
“Our decision ultimately comes from the intersection of many important factors, including the unknowns due to COVID-19,” reads the release. “Our days in our Geer Street home were already numbered.”
The owners of the roughly 4,000 square foot building in which the coworking space, retail collective, and community platform is based had planned to redevelop the property in 2021, even prior to the spread of the novel coronavirus in early 2020, according to the organization.
Across town, on the other side of Duke University’s East Campus, Nido Coworking + Childcare, is also vacating its building at 902 Broad Street at the end of May 2020.
“We will not be offering coworking and childcare for the summer session, and do not plan to offer coworking or childcare until we have found our new nest,” the organization’s Board of Directors shared on Sunday night in an email communication that was forwarded to WRAL Tech Wire. The organization had previously paused operations in March and canceled the remainder of the spring semester of their childcare program.
“At this pivotal moment, we can either continue spending our limited financial resources covering rent and utilities on an empty building, or take this opportunity to find a new nest that will better meet our needs,” the email reads.
The organization, which started as a co-operative, provided half-day childcare for coworking member’s children in a connected, yet separate, location within the building. According to the Board of Directors, the organization had applied for multiple grants and loans since closing its doors in mid-March, but they’ve only received one small loan to date.
Even prior to the spread of the coronavirus, the organization was searching for a different location which would allow for full-day childcare, and the organization now plans to focus its financial resources, time, and talent to finding a new location. Nido, which means “nest,” in Italian, described this as an extremely difficult decision “but one we expect will have many positive outcomes in the future.”
Fighting for Durham’s soul?
Durham can learn a lot from history, said Nordgren in an interview with WRAL Tech Wire last week, including recent history during the Great Recession and the emergence of a concerted effort from the City of Durham, Duke University, and Durham’s residents and communities to rebuild a deserted and struggling downtown.
“What fueled this effort,” said Nordgren, who grew up in the Bull City, “was Durham pride and a sense we were all in it together.”
Nordgren’s been a part of this effort, winning a contest for one of Durham’s early successes in positioning it as a place to launch a company in the recovery, The Smoffice. This initiative, which won the “World’s Most Unconventional Economic Development Initiative” at the World Chambers Congress in 2013, built the world’s smallest office in the front window of Beyú Caffè.
Nordgren and her startup team would work from that space, founding The Makery in 2012. Later would come the merger with Mercury Studio, and the transition into the much-larger current retail and coworking collaborative on Geer Street.
“I remember friends coming from out of town and marveling at our desire to represent our city, in our city, as city residents,” said Nordgren. “The difference between now and then is that Durham is pressed for space and prices are sky high.”
Commercial real estate prices rose steadily, as Durham’s city center became a popular destination for work, residences, and innovative concepts from American Underground, Duke University, and a bevy of other developers whose renovations of historic buildings and new construction of iconic towers has changed the skyline of the city and the composition of its residents.
“What made Durham what it is today was access and support,” said Nordgren. “Under those conditions, the talent of our community can shine, if we don’t include everyone, Durham loses its soul and its appeal.”
Both The Mothership and Nido faced uncertainty, competing for space and members with new entrants to the coworking market including the international WeWork organization and with the increasing presence and footprint of the locally-grown American Underground, even before the pandemic, according to both organization’s communications this week.
“As a small business that supports many other small businesses, we have intimate knowledge of the layers of stress and decision-fatigue this moment is bringing to many of us,” reads the press release from The Mothership.
Adam Klein, chief strategist of American Underground, told WRAL Tech Wire last week that there’s no risk of the closure of any of the 125,000 square feet of office space in three downtown Durham locations or its Raleigh location due to COVID-19, and WeWork could not be reached for comment. (Editor’s Note: American Underground is owned by WRAL Tech Wire’s parent company, Capital Broadcasting Company.)
But entrepreneurs need money and resources right now, added Nordgren in an interview, as organizations like The Mothership and Nido, as well as their members, have a lot of fixed costs and very little income.
“We are so honored that a community of truly creative and resilient folks have trusted us,” reads the press release from The Mothership, “with building a community that supported their meaningful work in the world.”
The organization is poised, said Nordgren, to be adaptive and responsive to its needs and the needs of the more than 420 past and current members of the community. But they’re still closing operations at their physical location.
Nido, too, will look for ways to support its members, past and present, the organization shared in its email update. “Nido as an idea and a community cannot be constrained by a mere building,” the email concludes. “We are optimistic that we will come through this time stronger than ever.”
