Cooperstown Coworks: ‘This Is What Cooperstown Needs’

By SARAH ROBERTS
COOPERSTOWN

One of the newest businesses in Cooperstown, located in Doubleday Court, is Cooperstown Coworks. Five thousand square feet of office, lounge area and conference space currently gives around 15 area residents who are working remotely a space to do so communally, lessening the isolating impact of remote work in a post-COVID world.

The space—equipped with private and shared workspaces, a full kitchen, personal phone booths for sensitive or private calls, multiple monitors, spaces for laptops and personal computers, and two meeting areas for conferencing or group work—is meant to provide residents with a professional but lively workspace, according to owners Dan and Molly Hernandez, who also provide free local coffee, tea, seltzer, and snacks.

The project began in August 2023, when Dan and Molly looked into purchasing a space in Doubleday Court. The deal was closed at the end of October that year, and construction began in January 2024, taking about eight weeks. Six months or so into the process, they purchased the adjacent space as well, further expanding the Cooperstown Coworks floorplan.

“The reception [from the community] has been almost universally, ‘this is what Cooperstown needs,’” said Dan.

The couple explained that they wanted their office space to be another way in which Cooperstown can attract a younger, more diverse set of people, and that village residents are not the only ones who can and do use the space.

According to Molly, tourists who come for a week or so will sometimes need a space to do a day of work, and they can purchase a day pass to get this work done.

Day-to-day work space and equipment is not all Cooperstown Coworks provides. A free networking event for all ages is routinely offered, usually on the last Wednesday of the month. Members and others can come and mingle, meeting new people and making new connections. The next such event is November 20 for interested parties.

Molly says of her and Dan’s own experience with the monthly event, “I feel like I know a lot of people, but then we keep meeting more.”

An experimental “speed networking” night, adapted from the speed dating model, was recently tried, and was reported to be great fun. Also offered for those curious about what goes on at Cooperstown Coworks is a free “day pass day,” often on the last Friday of the month. This month, however, the free day will be held on November 22. The free “day pass day” allows members of the community to experience the coworking facility and partake in the amenities, community, and atmosphere of the space.

While traditional remote workers are using the space as intended, to Dan and Molly’s pleasure, at least three writers have joined Cooperstown Coworks for their own creative pursuits. They also report some members who are not remote workers or writers, but merely people looking to get tasks done in an environment conducive to focus and work—members looking to do taxes and pay bills away from the hustle and bustle of homelife, chores, television, family members, or other distractions.

Also coming up in the conversation was work-life balance and the help a coworking space can provide with that for a remote worker.

“Having the boundary between when is working time and when is home time, when you’re working from home, is very hard,” Molly said.

The Hernandezes built the space with monetary accessibility in mind. Recognizing the sky-high prices that limit many remote workers’ ability to use rented office spaces, Dan stressed that traditional locations for remote work are out of the realm of possibility or comfort for most remote workers.

The lower tiers of Cooperstown Coworks membership range from $139.00-$199.00 per month with a year-long commitment. Month-to-month coworking is also an option. According to Dan and Molly, private office spaces provide a more standard set-up for a higher, but still much reduced, price.

“And if you have one of the offices, you can bring your pet, too!” Molly laughed.

There is also a student membership for $99.00 a month, with access until 9 p.m. for those in that membership tier. Molly said they want to offer a space for students to work at night, after classes, past when libraries and other work spaces close.

While memberships can be month-by-month, lately “conversion from a trial month to a full year is almost 100 percent,” Dan and Molly said.

And they have the desire and room to double their membership numbers in the near future.

Cooperstown Coworks also recently hosted a Glimmerglass Film Day event. There is future available space for other business, community, and social events in the evening, after the workday ends.

“We are excited to offer a flexible space to create new opportunities for the professionals in our area, be a place to collaborate, host events, and to add to the list of the many reasons why Cooperstown is a great place to live and work,” Dan and Molly said.

Cooperstown Coworks is at 6 Doubleday Court. Visit cooperstowncoworks.com to learn more.