Pair Brings Shared Working Space With a Killer View

Founders, David Jakubowski and William Cody created Colony Workplaces to bring co-working to Huntington.

By Sophia Ricco

sricco@longislandergroup.com

Coworking has made its way to Huntington and it’s being led by Colony Workplaces, a collaborative office space that emphasizes community and prosperity.

This new term, “coworking”, means people working together in a shared space to allow creativity and collaboration to take place. Colony founders, David Jakubowski and William Cody witnessed a growing trend of shared work spaces and wanted to bring this outside of the city. They crafted their project for a year, opening Colony at the beginning of November.

“It’s not just a place to rent a desk, we’re creating a community here,” Cody said.

The environment coworking creates is crucial to its success, with a wide variety of businesses and people moving into Colony to work, it is sure to be a dynamic atmosphere. People who are starting or growing their business, will find many of their needs can be met through collaboration with other workers.

“That’s a big part of what coworking is,” Jakubowski said. “The more we can bring everyone together, the more happy and comfortable you are, the more you want to come and be with your colleagues in the office, the longer you’re going to stay.”

Colony goes by the motto, “Thrive at the hive.” This ties into their name and logo, that implies bees working hard for their honey, like those using the space will do. But in order for bees to do their best, they must be happy and work together.

“What we’ve tried to do is have calming colors to the wall, beautiful views, a fire pit outside, nice photos on the wall, good people around you,” Jakubowski said. “We’re creating a calm place to work.”

They plan on hosting fun events for the workers, like barbecues and Thursday Night football, to encourage sociability.

“It’s not all about work, it’s a work-life balance,” Cody said. “You want to be here, you get a lot of work done here but you also like your colleagues.”

For someone who works at home, Colony offers a professional and serene environment, with the benefit of making connections with others.

“They feel they’ve missed out on a lot of the office interaction,” Cody said. “Even though, these people may not be working for the same company, they miss the camaraderie.”

Colony’s expansive space offers common spaces, private offices and conference rooms.

For Cody and Jakubowski, finding the right space to host Colony was critical. They didn’t want to settle for an office building or somewhere in the middle of town, where parking can be a nightmare. When they found this space by the waterfront, they knew it was a home run, with beautiful views, restaurants close by, and a parking lot.

“We wanted a serene setting in an off the beat and path location, where people could still have convenience,” Jakubowski said.

Colony offers common rooms, with spaces for quiet work, socialization, or a cup of coffee on a comfy seat. There are two private offices, giving workers more isolation with the ability to still venture into the common rooms. If someone is hosting a large group, there are two professional conference rooms equipped with TVs.

All of these spaces are adaptable and changeable, based on client needs. A person may only need half an office, so Colony will place another worker in there that has an alternating schedule. This allows them to keep their privacy, in a more cost-effective way.

“Someone asked us to take the meeting room out and put five desks in, we have the flexibility to convert anything… Things are going to evolve as we move along, we’re flexible to that,” Jakubowski said.

Colony offers a variety of packages to fit client’s needs and schedules. If a person works full-time at an office, but is working on a book or business on the side, they will have the off-hours package that allows them access outside of normal business hours.

“We always think creatively, if it works for you, it works for us,” Cody said.

Those interested in testing out the space can get access from Colony for a week to see if it’s the right fit for them. Colony expects to see a variety of businesses join them, from small start-ups to large corporations relocating their employees.

“We cover everything, electricity, internet, coffee, cable/TV, it’s all taken care of,” Jakubowski said. “It decreases your stress, because you just come in and start working, you don’t have to worry.”

Cody and Jakubowski plan to expand Colony to other towns on Long Island, but for now are focusing on their space by the sea.

“The view really is everything,” Cody said. “The way we designed this space is that no matter where you are in the hive, you’re gonna be looking at the harbor.”

Colony Workplaces

133 New York Avenue, Huntington

631-683-4140

colonyworkplaces.com