Herspace — a freshly renovated wing at Plexpod Westport Commons, part of the KC-based Plexpod coworking community — is designed for women, said Gerald Smith, and it’s a long time coming.
“This is front and center. It isn’t tucked away in some far away corner of an upper floor,” said Smith, noting 90 percent of Plexpod employees are women.
It’s a next-generation model for women-centric programming for both professional and personal development, he added.
Herspace members won’t be isolated, said Stephanie Medina, Plexpod director of operations. Women using the space will have full access to Plexpod amenities, as well as additional, women-specific services like nursing and powder rooms.
“We really just wanted to have an intentional space focused on women entrepreneurs inside Plexpod,” she said.“Eventually as this evolves, we want to see it in all of our other locations as well.”
Plexpod also maintains coworking and offices in Lenexa and the Crossroads.
Herspace will operate under Plexpod’s standard open desk model, starting at $100 a month, said Medina, with opportunities for day passes and full memberships allowing for travel across all locations.
Existing Plexpod members can enjoy access to Herspace at no additional cost, added Smith.
“We’re really hoping to engage not just inside the Plexpod community — we’re really looking at the Kansas City community, the metro area as a whole,” said Medina.
The space, which launches Sept. 4, is expected to partner with other women-centric organizations that would benefit from utilizing the next-generation workspace, said Smith.
Herspace also will play host to events and speakers to give members a broader reach of network, Medina added, noting all Plexpod members would be invited to offer feedback and ideas for growing the space.
“I think the great thing about coworking is being in a community and collaborating together, so we want people to come in and see the space and also express in their own words what they would like to see and what they think would add value to that as well,” said Medina.
The team hopes the initiative will grow, inspiring women entrepreneurs to connect and create, while building a collaborative community within the Plexpod family and throughout Kansas City, she said.
