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As DC startups grow, coworking space can still be a bargain

By Jeff Clabaugh

Coworking spaces that lease a shared desk or a semiprivate office by the month have been a go-to workplace option for many business startups, from gig workers to freelancers to those with more ambitious growth plans.

But those one- or two-person startups don’t need to graduate to more formal office space as they grow, and the savings can be significant.

In D.C., CoworkingCafe said the difference between a traditional, long-term office lease and staying with a coworking space model can save as much as 53.5%. That’s the 10th largest discount between a traditional office and coworking space among major metro areas.

CoworkingCafe said choosing to grow in a coworking space in D.C. can lead to an average annual savings of almost $56,000 for a 10-person team.

In D.C., the median price of an open workplace at a coworking location is $299 a month, and the median price of a dedicated desk is $430 a month. For the entire D.C. metro, median prices are even lower, at $200 and $364 a month respectively.

At the end of the second quarter of 2024, there were 258 coworking spaces in the D.C. market totaling 6.18 million square feet, ranked behind only Los Angeles, Dallas and Manhattan. On a metro level basis, Arlington and Alexandria rank in the top five for the number of coworking spaces in suburbs.

After payroll, office leasing can be one of a startup company’s biggest expenses. CoworkingCafe said coworking membership fees include things, such as cleaning and furniture. Purchasing desks and chairs for 10 employees alone would be a one-time expense of about $6,000. Cleaning averages $12,000 a year for a 2,000-square-foot office space.

The biggest traditional office lease versus coworking space discount is in Sunnyvale, California, at an average of 70.3%. All Silicon Valley cities in the coworking report have coworking subscriptions that are less than half the cost of an office lease, even with some of the highest coworking dedicated desk prices in the country.

CoworkingCafe’s full analysis of coworking versus traditional office space is online.

Massachusetts court hears arguments in lawsuit alleging Meta designed apps to be addictive to kids

By The Associated Press
BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts' highest court heard oral arguments Friday in the state's lawsuit arguing that Meta designed features on Facebook and Instagram to make them addictive to young users. The lawsuit, filed in 2023 by Attorney General Andrea Campbell, alleges that Meta did this to make a profit and that its actions affected hundreds of thousands of teenagers in Massachusetts who use the social media platforms. “We are making claims based only on the tools that Meta has developed because its own research shows they encourage addiction to the platform in a variety of ways,” said State Solicitor David Kravitz, adding that the state's claim has nothing to do the company's algorithms or failure to moderate content. Meta said Friday that it strongly disagrees with the allegations and is “confident the evidence will show our longstanding commitment to supporting young people.” Its attorney, Mark Mosier, argued in court that the lawsuit “would impose liabilities for performing traditional publishing functions” and that its actions are protected by the First Amendment.
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