Luxury Community Workspace Opens in Heart of Capitola

With , professionals are being crammed into offices over the hill and working from home at an increasing rate. 

Office space in Santa Cruz County is expensive. If you add together rent, deposit, maintenance, utilities, phone, internet, supplies, furniture and decoration, you can easily pay over $15K per year just to have a spot to work.

You have to spend money to make money, but spending less money without the sacrifice is where Office Club comes in. 

Office Club is among the latest additions to the Capitola business community, and like NextSpace in Santa Cruz it offers the chance for anyone to drop in to get work done, or to pay for a membership for limitless work time with robust perks — all at a cheaper rate than leasing an office.

Co-Owner Jason De Francesco worked over the hill and also maintained an office in Soquel for years. It was his mountain of expenses maintaining that work style that helped inspire Office Club. 

"We're appealing to a community of professionals that's currently commuting over the hill multiple days a week, or who might be renting office space now on their own, that look at their expenses and say 'I'm spending this much for my desk, my rent and my deposit.' We're offering a way for them to save money," De Francesco said.

The new space, located at 1840 41st Ave. upstairs from , has the bandwidth for 30 to 40 members all of whom have access to the main work lounge and private conference room. For a higher rate, private suites are also available. Additionally, single-use drop-in is encouraged.

While maintaining affordability, Office Club remains an upscale space equipped with a concierge service to give members a shared personal assistant.

"The concierge service sets us apart," De Francesco said. "We want a brand that is welcoming and an extension of what you might see in a typical office space, which is where the concierge comes into play — whether it's billings for an accountant, dropping off your dry cleaning or mailing for a real estate agent."

"The concierge will greet your guests, make dinner reservations for you and do things that give you that extra level of service that others wont give you," Co-Owner Frank DeBernardo added.

The owners agree that Office Club is upscale, yet it refrains from becoming uptight. 

"We have people that enjoy coming to work in t-shirts and sandals," DeBernardo said. "That's what people love about Santa Cruz. We understand that we need to be a place for everybody that wants to come and work."

"It's not supposed to feel stuffy," De Francesco added. "We're not taking applications and reviewing who can be a member here."

Drop-in costs $35 per day, or five full days of work for $125. But members are privy to the following, including a free first month:

• Loung Member Plus: $375/month for full access to the open lounge area, eight hours of private conference room time, wireless internet, copy, print fax, private mailbox, concierge, 24/7 access and vending services.
• Private Suite Member: $650/month and up for the same access plus a private, lockable suite and 12 hours of conference room space. 

While it's still a bit like paying rent, with no contracts or maintenance obligations, it's a totally different ballgame than signing a lease. 

"We're not trying to redefine what shared office space is," De Francesco said. "This is truly just a very nice space to get your work done."

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