Base Coworking breathes new life into a historic Broadway building
The space is intended to serve small business owners, entrepreneurs, and collaborative professionals.
A well-known Knoxville developer is breathing new life into a long-time dormant building at 828 North Broadway Avenue. A portion of the multi-story, multi-colored building in the Fourth and Gill neighborhood has been collecting dust since its former life as a halfway house several years ago, and the rest of the building has been vacant for several decades.
According to Knox News Sentinel archives, the building, built in 1929 faced some scrutiny from community members in 2011 for serving as a post-prison ministry center. Today, Juliana Terra is re-writing the property’s story by making it a gathering place for the whole neighborhood.
“When this building came to market in 2021, I toured it, and kept thinking deep inside – this place is perfect,” Terra said.
Keep in mind- at the time, the building had a grayscale exterior, with a crumbling interior structure, covered in graffiti, and needed a lot of renovations. Terra’s confidence speaks a lot about her creativity and vision for old buildings in Knoxville.
The building, newly painted in big pink, blue, purple, and orange polka dots will serve as the city’s newest coworking space, coupled with a coffee + wine shop, apartments, and Airbnb listings. Its location off Broadway would make it the first business of its kind in the Fourth and Gill neighborhood.
Terra’s first project in the space was to build out six apartment units in the back half of the building.
I finished the apartments first and rented them out to get some cash flow going on the property. Then we found Partial Café to rent the space for the coffee shop downstairs, which is more cash-flow and a way to get people to come to the property,” she said. “We are using those operations to help pay for the development of Base CoWorking.”
So, out of all the business opportunities suitable for this space, what made Terra choose to start a coworking space?
She said it all comes down to her four main mission statements.
Sustainability is at the center of everything Terra and her husband, Zhenya Fomin do with their Urbano Group. Their architecture and development firm was founded on the principle of saving old buildings, restoring historic charm, and revitalizing the downtown scene.
For example, a project they started before the building at 828 North Broadway was helping with the development and construction of the Hotel Cleo and the Lilou projects on Gay Street.
“I have a very strong background in the renovation of historic properties and restoring the urban fabric in the city. I think that’s my contribution to a better world,” Terra said.
Another one of Terra’s missions is to bring vibrancy to the city, and its special spaces. She wants Base to be a vibrant community center that attracts niche business owners, young professionals, and community members.
This leads to her next mission, which is to create a community of like-minded individuals who can spend time together in both work and play. In the upstairs area of the coworking space, the Urbano Group is developing a room full of turf, that can be used for game nights, movie nights, and events at the center.
Terra also hopes to partner with local non-profits to encourage tenants and renters to get involved in the local ecosystem.
And finally, one of her biggest driving factors in the Base Coworking concept is to help support small business owners. While any employee is welcome to request an office space at the Base, small business owners take precedence. Terra wants it to be a collaborative community, where new founders can support one another in their dreams and visions.
The space is industry agnostic, meaning it is welcoming to tech- entrepreneurs, independent marketers, designers, developers, administrative professionals, and anyone else who may need an office space away from home.
The Urbano Group is currently leasing out spaces for Base Coworking on its website. Right now, a café membership is available for anyone at just $10 per month. It also provides the member a $10 credit at Partial Café. Folks who sign up for this membership will have first dibs on the upstairs office spaces when they become available. Base café members can also book the private conference room downstairs.
According to the site, the Flex Desks, Virtual offices, and Private offices will become available for pre-lease on the website on August 1st.
Like what you've read?
Forward to a friend!