Upper West Sider pushes to bring coworking to area

An Upper West Side resident is eyeing a vacant 17,000-square-foot spread at 43 West 65th Street to create the neighborhood’s first coworking space.

Sharon Schanzer, a freelance graphic designer and technology consultant, is leading the charge to bring shared office space north of Midtown, she told West Side Rag.

The 65th Street space, Located Between Central Park West And Columbus Avenue, occupies two floors above Chinese restaurant Shun Lee. Schanzer, who has already toured the space and drafted a layout plan with the help of an architect, told DNAinfo that the only thing standing between her and the creation of the space is capital.

It will take between $500,000 to $1 million to get the project off the ground, Schanzer told DNAinfo, and so far no investors have stepped forward. To generate revenue, she estimated that the space would need to charge upward of $500 per month and sign at least 300 registrants, along with space for 100 workers who rotate daily.

Harlem Garage, a similarly-conceived coworking space at 318 West 118th Street, received a $250,000 boost from the city and charges $300 per month for space [DNAinfo] and [West Side Rag] — Julie Strickland