CoFlow is a coworking space at 2416 Jefferson Ave. in Union Hill. Owner Lyndee Cabo is an interior designer and she also designed the space. (Photo courtesy of CoFlow)
Frustrated with her experiences at other shared workspaces elsewhere in town, a local interior designer launched a coworking space of her own closer to home.
Lyndee Cabo of 29 & Design Studio recently opened CoFlow at 2416 Jefferson Ave. in Union Hill.
CoFlow features 21 desks and two call booths in a space that’s just under 1,000 square feet. The coworking space is open 24 hours and has a kitchenette and computer monitors that members can hook their computers into for more digital legroom.
The coworking space has capacity for about 70 members, and Cabo said last week she’s about halfway to that total. She said remote tech workers were about half her membership, which also includes a few lawyers and students.
CoFlow features a flex membership that starts at $98 a month and provides 32 hours of desk access per month that can be broken up as the member wants.
Lyndee Cabo
“Initially, we had a flex membership similar to other coworking spaces in the area where you can come in four days a month. We started with that model as one of our main membership types and after seeing how I work, I can’t remember the last time I sat down and did eight hours of work in one sitting,” Cabo said. “Now we’re doing more of a hot-desking system where someone can come in for two hours and then a few days later come in for the afternoon or whatever.”
Other packages include an unlimited membership that starts at $250 a month and evenings-only and weekends-only packages that are each $49 a month, according to the company’s website.
Cabo said she was attracted to the idea of a coworking space to get her out of the house after a stint of working from home. She tried several spaces around town but said she couldn’t find one that quite hit the mark.
“I would get parking tickets (downtown) or I would go out to Midlothian or Scott’s Addition, and then I’m commuting to work, which is what I was trying to avoid,” said Cabo, a Church Hill resident. “I wanted something walkable and something that would provide an outlet for the community to meet new people.”
Cabo figured others in the neighborhood would be receptive to the idea of a space where they could get work done and would be close enough to walk to.
“I had been working out of my house since 2020 and at that point was two years into running 29 & Design and was tired of working at home. I have a 3-year-old. There are dishes everywhere, toys everywhere, laundry. It was really distracting. I knew I definitely was not the only person in the neighborhood going through that as well,” she said.
Cabo said she also envisions CoFlow as a hub for the neighborhood, and the coworking space hosts programming open to non-members such as regular trips to local restaurants to socialize.
CoFlow is located in a suite of the mixed-use building at 2416 Jefferson Ave. developed by Matt Jarreau and Daniil Kleyman. Other tenants in the building include Spotty Dog Ice Cream Co. as well as two upcoming restaurant concepts by the owners of the Jasper.
CoFlow is a coworking space at 2416 Jefferson Ave. in Union Hill. Owner Lyndee Cabo is an interior designer and she also designed the space. (Photo courtesy of CoFlow)
Frustrated with her experiences at other shared workspaces elsewhere in town, a local interior designer launched a coworking space of her own closer to home.
Lyndee Cabo of 29 & Design Studio recently opened CoFlow at 2416 Jefferson Ave. in Union Hill.
CoFlow features 21 desks and two call booths in a space that’s just under 1,000 square feet. The coworking space is open 24 hours and has a kitchenette and computer monitors that members can hook their computers into for more digital legroom.
The coworking space has capacity for about 70 members, and Cabo said last week she’s about halfway to that total. She said remote tech workers were about half her membership, which also includes a few lawyers and students.
CoFlow features a flex membership that starts at $98 a month and provides 32 hours of desk access per month that can be broken up as the member wants.
Lyndee Cabo
“Initially, we had a flex membership similar to other coworking spaces in the area where you can come in four days a month. We started with that model as one of our main membership types and after seeing how I work, I can’t remember the last time I sat down and did eight hours of work in one sitting,” Cabo said. “Now we’re doing more of a hot-desking system where someone can come in for two hours and then a few days later come in for the afternoon or whatever.”
Other packages include an unlimited membership that starts at $250 a month and evenings-only and weekends-only packages that are each $49 a month, according to the company’s website.
Cabo said she was attracted to the idea of a coworking space to get her out of the house after a stint of working from home. She tried several spaces around town but said she couldn’t find one that quite hit the mark.
“I would get parking tickets (downtown) or I would go out to Midlothian or Scott’s Addition, and then I’m commuting to work, which is what I was trying to avoid,” said Cabo, a Church Hill resident. “I wanted something walkable and something that would provide an outlet for the community to meet new people.”
Cabo figured others in the neighborhood would be receptive to the idea of a space where they could get work done and would be close enough to walk to.
“I had been working out of my house since 2020 and at that point was two years into running 29 & Design and was tired of working at home. I have a 3-year-old. There are dishes everywhere, toys everywhere, laundry. It was really distracting. I knew I definitely was not the only person in the neighborhood going through that as well,” she said.
Cabo said she also envisions CoFlow as a hub for the neighborhood, and the coworking space hosts programming open to non-members such as regular trips to local restaurants to socialize.
CoFlow is located in a suite of the mixed-use building at 2416 Jefferson Ave. developed by Matt Jarreau and Daniil Kleyman. Other tenants in the building include Spotty Dog Ice Cream Co. as well as two upcoming restaurant concepts by the owners of the Jasper.
This sounds like a good side gig! I think the We-Work concept will be increasing as small business needs a “professional” space for conference room meetings – vs renting office space as businesses try to grow. I think it would be more secure to have the monitors facing the wall instead of facing the public. Yes, it may be more distracting for the person to be facing the center, but business security/IP needs to be secured – away from public eyes. As Cabo admits, I agree the WFH is distracting for employees (here come the haters) and generally not good… Read more »
I am not going to make generalizations on either side of the WFH thing — it has been a boon for my wife ever since she got permission to WFH from her DC employer most of the workweek (which led to her acting like a college kid sleeping over two nights a week on her friend’s couch in duPont Circle in exchange for $100 until she joined a partnership that allowed her to WFH entirely outside of meetings and travel. I also knew State Workers and now Federal workers who are actually MORE productive with WFH because, like in many… Read more »
The space looks gorgeous. I hope she gets some more interior design work out of this as well. Kind of a we-work/portfolio site combo.
Godspeed Ms. Cabo! Wow! I remember when I moved to Virginia 20 years ago with lots of student loan debt, Union Hill was one of several areas I hoped to buy an old bldg to fix up that would not involve a lot more personal debt load because the area was SO run-down and yet so centrally located and kind of a cool area if you could see beyond all the blight. Unfortunately I got to Richmond a hair too late and the deal I needed was no longer to be found and I soon moved to Petersburg, which was… Read more »