The city had an idea and two brothers jumped on an opportunity.
Keeping up with a new business trend, city officials worked with brothers and local business owners Greg and Eric Leugers to open Franklin’s first co-working space, The Elevator.
A co-working space is an area where members can pay either as individuals or businesses to use the space for work. The Elevator has five members, including three businesses and two individuals. Members can use the space to work, meet or prepare documents through the week from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m.
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“It’s just a space for someone who works mobile or would like a presence in downtown Franklin to come in and work at their leisure any day of the week,” Eric Leugers said.
The city of Franklin had wanted to open a co-working space for a number of years to bring more businesses to Franklin, Greg Leugers said. He approached city officials and Mayor Steve Barnett early last year, and offered to let him and his brother take over the operation as a private establishment.
Longtime Franklin business owners themselves, Eric and Greg Leugers had the experience to create The Elevator. Greg Leugers is the owner and broker of Keller Williams Hometown Realty and Eric Leugers is the managing partner of Leugers Insurance.
Since they had space in the building at 26 E. Jefferson St. where their businesses are housed, they decided to put The Elevator on the second floor, Greg Leugers said.
The name The Elevator is both literal and figurative, they said. Figuratively, the name was chosen to play on the concept of elevating your business. The building also has a 100-year-old inoperable elevator.
“The weird thing is that we don’t have an active elevator right now,” Greg Leugers said. “It’s called The Elevator, but you can’t take one to the second level right now.”
When the elevator is repaired, it will be one of the oldest working elevators in the state, Eric Leugers said.
Turning a real estate office into The Elevator took about six months with some delays in remodeling and creating the WiFi system needed.
“You want a space that’s cool, so they want to be here,” Eric Leugers said. “Getting the space right is what delayed it a month or two.”
Two years ago, the city started setting aside money for a co-working space, Greg Leugers said. The city subsidized the remodel of the real estate office to a co-working space, and the Leugers covered furniture, decoration and other items needed. The total cost ranged between $120,000 to $130,000.
The space, which overlooks downtown Franklin, is meant to be flexible for members, the brothers said. The atmosphere is split between a coffee shop and an office. The front half of the space mimics a coffee shop environment with cafe-style tables, couches, lounge chairs and a countertop bar. The back half is a traditional office area with long tables and desks.
The idea is that people who work on-the-go can enjoy a flexible workspace to have private business conversations without being in a public environment.
“It’s not necessarily a public space to where other people are just in there for their enjoyment,” Eric Leugers said. “If they’re going to be in this facility, it’s all going to be professional driven.”
A co-working space also brings opportunity to network.
“You’re surrounded by like-minded people,” Greg Leugers said. “You’re sitting with entrepreneurs, you’re seeing what they’re doing, asking them questions.”
The Elevator can take up to about 200 more members, Eric Leugers said, even though the space only has room for 75 people at once. Since members can come and go as they please, they are all rarely in the space at the same time, Greg Leugers said.
Members have access to printers, scanner, a private locker, private conference rooms and they can create their own private WiFi domain. The cost of a membership varies, depending on how much a person or company wants to use the space. Playing on the theme of “The Elevator,” the different memberships are named in levels, even though the space is only on one floor.
A Top Floor membership is $149 per month for full access to the building and its amenities seven days a week. Ground Floor membership is limited access eight days a month for $99 per month. Single-day bookings cost $24.
“I think people want options now, and they want flexibility,” Eric Leugers said.
The space can also be booked for weekend events, something the Leugers did not expect to take off so well. They currently have events booked through September 2019.
“We really didn’t create the space to be an event space,” Eric Leugers said. “I mean we don’t use it Friday, Saturday, Sunday, so why not?”
The goal of The Elevator is to bring more business to Franklin. Having grown up in Franklin, the Leugers want to see the town grow.
“Start your businesses here, keep your businesses here and help, hopefully, roll this out from starting a business here to moving to a storefront,” Eric Leugers said.
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Each month, local businesswomen meet in The Elevator to network, share ideas and lift each other up.
Creator Mindi Epstein, owner of Peace Through Yoga in Franklin, envisioned the space as a way for local women to connect with each other.
"I saw an opportunity to bring really amazing women together," she said.
The first part of the meetings focus on networking with others. The second part is a guest motivational speaker.
The speaker is usually a woman with an inspiring story, Epstein said. Past speakers included podcast producer Jen Edds and Cassie Stockcamp, president of the Athenaeum Foundation and founder of Monumental Yoga.
Epstein said there has been so much interest and she hopes to further reach out to the young women attending Franklin College to help them find mentors through the group.
The next meeting is 8 a.m. Jan. 30.
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The Elevator is located on the second floor of 26 E. Jefferson St., Franklin.
Amenities: Printer, scanner, personal lockers, mailing addresses, private conference rooms, public and private WiFi options, coffee, fridge access.
Cost
Top Floor Member: $149 per month
Ground Floor Member: $99 per month
Single-day access: $24
To apply for a membership or for more information: elevatorfranklin.com
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