First he brought you Studio IX, and now he’s set his sights on another collaborative workspace, one for whom he dubs the town’s creative entrepreneurs.
In the Downtown Mall’s historic Bradbury building—the former Bank of America space—James Barton prepares to open Vault Virginia, where he says commercial atmosphere will meet a residential one in a number of “warm, inviting, art-infused and culturally refined” office spaces.
We’re talking pendant lighting and walls made of glass here, folks. Common areas between offices will allow Charlottesville’s creative class to collab on a number of projects in a 25,000-square-foot space that is “both focused and socially dynamic” according to Barton.
Vault Virginia will also offer private offices, creative suites, conference rooms and ergonomic workstations in the building that will house an upscale steakhouse on its first floor.
About half of Vault Virginia’s 50 offices are still available and prices range from $1,500 to $2,500 per month. Rent for a desk space costs $450 per month and for $100 less, you can sit in any community area. Workers passing through town can purchase a day pass for $50. The building also has three event spaces, room for three art galleries, a cafe and a kitchen.
You’ve heard of this concept before. Jaffray Woodriff’s latest venture, the Charlottesville Technology Center, will take over the ice rink space as an entrepreneurial tech incubator in 2018. In this space designed to accelerate tech-themed start-up businesses, teaming up with other brainiacs in town is the name of the game.
Barton says the American workforce has changed dramatically and in creative cities like our own, workspaces that also support remote workers and freelancers are becoming a trend.
“This is a small part of a bigger vision,” he says. “I think everybody is starting to row in the same direction.”
See more sketches below. Click for a larger version. Courtesy of Vault Virginia.
