Livewire brings coworking to Jasper
Jasper’s first coworking space will open next week
Heather Gries had an idea.
A client of hers had been wondering what to do with the unused area inside a building that used to hold a Jasper factory.
Her friends, Nathan Waggner and Calvin Cash — proprietors of Cash Waggner and Associates — had purchased the former-JOFCO building in 2013. They split a significant portion of the 300,000 square foot building off for the creation of the Jasper Lofts and then renovated some of the remaining footage to create spaces for several businesses.
But there was still a lot of building left to develop.
Gries had spent a lot of time in that same building earlier in her career when she worked in human resources for JOFCO. After leaving the company, she had opened Anna Vonn Salon and Boutique in Dale and also operated in Jasper. She knew Waggner and Cash through her salon.
“I have been friends with Nathan and Calvin for about 10 years,” she explained. “And when they bought the building, I asked them what they planned on doing with all that space.”
They weren’t sure.
Fortunately, Gries ended up in one Indiana’s premier coworking spaces last year.
As part of her passion for economic development, the Spencer County resident attended an Office of Community and Rural Development grant-writing training seminar in Indianapolis. While she was up there, a friend of hers, Ray Niehaus, suggested she check out Launch Fishers — the City of Fishers’ gem of a coworking space that has expanded from its original location in the city’s library to its own space in a partnership with Ball State University.
Inspired by Launch Fishers, Gries felt she had an idea for what Waggner and Cash could do with a part of their building. She filled two poster boards with clipped magazine photos and pictures of places she had visited that inspired her vision for a similar space in Jasper and then added sticky notes to paint a vision for what would become Livewire.
They gave her the go-ahead last November. Since then, she has been managing the project to convert about 9,500 square feet of the second story of the Cash Waggner and Associates building into the new space.
Greis’ design ideas for the workspace come from a love for early 20th Century pop culture. Antique pieces from that era
In a way, she is pulling from the history of the building. It was built in 1922.
“I researched the history of the building,” she explained, pointing out her own time in the building when she worked for JOFCO. “I knew the people that worked here. I knew that it was a fourth-generation company.”
The open workspace which features two seated areas with individual televisions and four height-adjustable desks — good for standing or sitting — is called Wall Street. The six individual private offices feature names like Shirley Temple, Streamliner, and Bonnie & Clyde. The printing area is called Prohibition Printing. As part of the second phase of construction, an unfinished hall set up for large events is being called The Speakeasy.
Along with the private offices and open area, the coworking space also has private desks, a lounge area, a conference room with a large touch screen display, and a collaboration space (appropriately called Fireside Chats).
Amenities in the space include WiFi, printing and copy services for a per-page cost, pickup for dry cleaning and laundry, car washes and oil changes, food delivery, postal services, and FedEx pickup.
While drop-ins from visiting professionals are welcome for temporary use while they are in the area, the goal is to create an ecosystem of like-minded entrepreneurs, creators, and dreamers coming together under one roof. And, with the low cost of membership, the boot-strapping business-owner can take advantage of some professional services that might be out of reach otherwise.
Morgan Thewes has been hired by Cash Waggner and Associates as the LiveWire community manager. Her goal is to create the atmosphere necessary for an organic progression of business development.
Her plans include networking events and meetings designed to bring people in the space to cultivate fun, creative, collaboration.
For the 26-year-old Thewes, Livewire is a part of the city’s progress to attract more people to Jasper and create more opportunities. “I live down on Main Street, and I love it,” she said. “I can bike over to Brew or Snaps and down here. I am in that vibe, and I hope to help it (Jasper) thrive.”
In addition to fostering those relationships and new business start-ups, Livewire just received notification Oakland City University will be offering education courses for local students with weekly classes in the conference room. Students in the program will receive a hot seat membership to the space giving them access to a place to work, collaborate, and study.
It’s another part of the community-driven goals of the new space being offered in a once undeveloped area that is seeing a resurgence in entrepreneurial growth.
Like most coworking spaces, Livewire has 24-hour access that will be available through an app. Users can log on and sign up for whatever their needs are, whether it is the use of the conference area or one of the hot seats for a day, week, month or a whole year.
For more information, contact Morgan Thewes through the Livewire website here or by calling 812-719-9899.
