Benjamin’s Desk recently announced the opening of its first suburban location in Montgomery County – Benjamin’s Desk Ambler Yards. Benjamin’s Desk is a co-working space and network with five locations in Philadelphia and one in Delaware and coming soon. Ambler Yards, the former site of AmChem Products, Inc., will be a licensee of Benjamin’s Desk, with Ambler Yards general partners Marc Policarpo and Matt Sigel managing the location day to day. We recently spoke with Matt and Marc to discuss the the Benjamin’s Desk space.
Benjamin’s Desk describes itself as a “a next-generation business incubation engine.” More than just a co-working space, Benamin’s Desk offers business programming aimed to spur entrepreneurship among their vast network of members. This entrepreneurial spirit motivated Policarpo and Sigel to sign with the co-working company.
“We could have gone independently as a co-working site,” Policarpo said. “We could have aligned ourselves with other regional co-working firms, but we chose Benjamin’s Desk because of their robust programming, their community, their plans for expansion that they’re executed on…the strength of Benjamin’s Desk isn’t just that they’re growing but they also have a vibrant, entrepreneurial community.”
The Ambler Yards incarnation of Benjamin’s Desk will be an approximately 4,000 square foot shared workspace that will be able to accommodate up to 100 members. There will be bench seating, private offices, high speed internet, complimentary coffee, conference rooms and more. Other than some informal co-working groups, there are no other co-working spaces in the immediate area. Click here for a detailed floor plan
Benjamin’s Desk will offer management support, training and programming support and will recognize the Ambler Yards location as a member of the Benjamin’s Desk community. Speaking of community, being a member of Benjamin’s Desk entitles you to use space at all Benjamin’s Desk locations. They call it “ubiquity”. Membership in Ambler will afford you access to a vast network of potential partners.
Policarpo and Sigel intimated that although the initial Benjamin’s Desk space is a mix of private offices, and desk space to accommodate 100 members, Ambler Yards is over 285,000 square feet and growing that initial space is a distinct and real possibility.
Although Benjamin’s Desk is a franchise, there will be amenities unique to the Ambler Yards campus, including a game room, a fitness room, showers, an on-site café, and a lounge.
Construction on the space is set to begin in mid-May. The staff is expected to be on board by the middle of June and a projected opening is slated for August or September of 2017. For more information about the new location, including pricing, click here. You can also sign up for e-mail notifications about the project here.