The
"home office" has taken up residency in a new neighborhood.
From the more traditional corporate housing at the Residence
Inn by Marriott to a breathtaking penthouse in a 1920s apartment
building, companies are finding new spaces to both work and
live--if only for awhile.
Who
uses temporary housing for office space? Maybe a company that
doesn't have the extra room at headquarters for their consultants,
agents or employees on temporary assignment. Or lawyers coming
to town for trials. Or even a young company that needs an
inexpensive launching pad and quasi-incubator. Try on these
creative temporary office spaces for size.
Would
You Like Room Service With Your Dataport?
Residence
Inn by Marriott is the industry's largest operator of extended-stay
hotels with more than 300 properties located throughout the
United States, Canada and Mexico. "Extended stay" refers to
a segment of the hotel industry that caters to guests who
stay five or more nights in a single location. Locally, the
Residence Inn has three locations: the Galleria, Chesterfield
and Westport areas.
"We've
had some people stay for years at a time, although the average
stay is about two weeks," says Cliff Repka, general manager
for Residence Inn at the Galleria. "With 50 percent more space
than a hotel room, guests have plenty of space to work and
relax while receiving all the services they need. Our guests
get an office space and living space in one."
He
says it's much less expensive for guests to set up offices
at Residence Inn than it is to rent both a hotel and temporary
office space, buy equipment and pay utilities. "In our suites,
we offer dataports, as well as the choice of a direct phone
line or routing calls through our switchboard," Repka says.
"Many guests prefer our switchboard, because we can act as
a secThe
Residence Inn staff also can arrange for office supplies,
desks and equipment like copiers and faxes. In addition, the
Residence Inn offers personalized voice mail, daily housekeeping
service, complimentary grocery shopping service, complimentary
breakfasts and social hours, a pool, heated spa, sports court
and even a weekly barbecue.
Each
unit includes a fully equipped kitchen with appliances, utensils,
flatware and dishware. A variety of suites are offered including
one- and two-bedroom suites, oversized studio suites, and
penthouse suites, which are two-level, with two sleeping areas
and two full bathrooms.
"We
tailor each space to whatever our guests need," Repka says.
"Usually, our guests want more than just a room. They want
the convenience of services and staff that we provide to help
them be most productive and comfortable."
Sunsets
and Supply Chains
The
current "headquarters" for Inner Circle Logistics serves three
purposes: 1) provides temporary office and meeting space;
2) provides lodging for the company's out-of-town partners;
and 3) provides partners John and Bonnie Clendenin a place
to live. And it all takes place in a breathtaking 2,500-square-foot
penthouse suite with a virtually unobstructed view of the
city.
Inner
Circle Logistics is a newly formed business-to-business software
company working to use the Internet to connect small and medium-size
companies with large companies that buy their goods. Partners
include John Clendenin, a Harvard Business School professor
and ex-Marine; his wife, Bonnie; Art Kimbrough, a local executive
who specializes in organizing and leading seminars on supply
chain management; and Bruce Blagg, founder of an Arizona consulting
company.
Transplanted
to St. Louis from Boston to
help start Inner Circle, the Clendenins knew they wanted to
live in the city limits close to cultural activities. But
until they found the penthouse at Saum Apartments on South
Grand, they hadn't planned to live and work in the same place--they
had already been there, done that, with other business ventures.
But
Bonnie Clendenin spotted an ad for the penthouse as they were
driving out of St. Louis. So they called their partner, Art
Kimbrough, to check it out. Kimbrough, a St. Louis resident,
once lived in a Central West End penthouse. He was immediately
captivated by the South Grand penthouse and it's potential
for providing both living and working space. Sight unseen,
the Clendenins committed to the penthouse based on Kimbrough's
assessment and enthusiasm.
The
penthouse includes two master bedrooms, another bedroom, den,
living room, dining room and full kitchen. The Clendenins
and their dog have claimed one of the master bedrooms as their
own, leaving the other two bedrooms open for guests--particularly
the company's partners. The den serves as an office, while
the dining room is now a conference room complete with a pool
table disguised as a conference table. The living room is
a meeting room. A 1,500-square-foot terrace offers a stunning
view of the city. A T1 line to the building was already in
place, making it simple to hardwire several desks in the penthouse.
Kimbrough
has a home office in Chesterfield but also frequently works
with Clendenin at the penthouse. He says he and Clendenin
do better work in the penthouse environment than in a typical
office building. "We can control access and be more in control
of our schedule with fewer interruptions."
He
adds: "The price per square foot was much lower than we ever
anticipated--better than any incubator. All utilities are
included in the price except the telephone. And we save money
because we don't have to put our out-of-town partners up in
hotels when they come to town. We are in many ways a virtual
company scattered across the country. When we plan to be together,
we do business on purpose and are more respectful of one another's
time. This arrangement allows dialogue to continue from morning
until night as we build this business."
Clendenin
agrees. "One of the advantages to living and working here
is that the company has access to me around the clock,
whether someone is calling from Singapore or Boston. And if
I have an idea late at night, I just go from my bedroom to
the den and jot down some notes. Of course, the risk is that
I can't get away from my work. But at this stage of the business,
it requires much of my attention anyway. While we're at a
little different point in our lives than the Yahoo founder
who lived and built his business in a trailer, the approach,
energy and dedication is the same."
He
continues: "This arrangement is comfortable and familiar to
my wife and me. It's similar to the Marine model of a self-contained
life where you work, live and play in one place. I'm just
fortunate I can do this with my wife."
But
the living/working arrangement is planned to be temporary.
After Inner Circle gets off the ground and grows its employee
base, the penthouse will likely become the executive offices
and the Clendenins will move to their own home. Maybe. The
Clendenins have learned never to say never.
Working
in a Little Play
With
the high-caliber executives involved in Inner Circle, it's
not all work and no play. "There's a real team atmosphere
to this business arrangement," Clendenin says. "We have everything
available in the penthouse from Kurt Warner crunch cereal
to juices to nice wine. And we all clean up after ourselves
so there's no cook role."
And
after a long day, the pool table has been known to relieve
tensions, Kimbrough says.
In
addition, the Inner Circle entrepreneurs frequently have "sunset
meetings" at the penthouse. "Part of these meetings include
going out on the terrace to enjoy the sunset," Clendenin says.
"We're the last large building going west into the city, so
we have a spectacular view."
"It's
hard to beat walking out on the terrace to see the sunset
at the end of the day," Kimbrough says. "It gives you a nice
perspective.
"This
is a good working environment for the way we want to work
now. I urge others to consider working outside the box. This
space inspires creativity and opened our eyes to different
ways of doing things as we launch this company."
