The Pioneer Collective Expands Its Homegrown Coworking and Events Business to Ballard’s Brewery District
Ballard, WA, 2nd February 2022 - The Pioneer Collective will open its fourth Puget Sound area coworking space with a 14,000 sqft presence in Ballard’s Tommer Building this summer. TPC Ballard will round out a local network of workspace and meeting hubs that includes TPC Tacoma and TPC Belltown, just north of Pike Place Market. The company was forced to move out of its flagship Pioneer Square location in 2021 to make way for the development of the Railspur Hotel project.
Co-founder, Audrey Hoyt says, “We were sad to say goodbye to Pioneer Square. It was our home for seven years and was our most financially successful space, but the sting of that loss was dulled by this exciting opportunity. Our customers have been asking us to open in North Seattle since 2015. It’s taken years to find the right opportunity, but we couldn’t be happier about where we landed.”
Unlike many larger operators, The Pioneer Collective was able to adjust and persevere through the COVID-19 pandemic, ultimately coming out stronger after two years of lean revenue. “It initially seemed like COVID might be a death blow to our industry,” says CEO Christopher Hoyt. “Before the pandemic, we’d sometimes question our conservative approach to growth, and our obsession with financial sustainability. It felt like everyone around us was benefitting from an aggressive expansion strategy, even if the numbers didn’t seem to make sense. Ultimately, it turned out to be what saved us. If we had chased questionable opportunities, rather than focusing on perfecting our offering, developing a resilient business model, and nurturing our strong customer base, we would have ended up over-extended and unable to deal with the extreme financial stress of the last two years. Instead, we have a great team intact, we’ve learned a lot, and we’re excited to be a small part of the new way that people are going to work.”
The company also maintains a diverse product offering, with revenue streams coming from monthly coworking memberships, private offices, meeting, and offsite rentals, event space rentals, and mail processing services. “By diversifying our services, rather than trying to maximize every square inch of a space with tiny private offices, we realize a number of benefits,” says Hoyt. “ For one, we’re more financially sustainable as we can adjust each lever as needed to meet demand. Secondly, we have a broader customer portfolio. We’re able to work with individual entrepreneurs, SMBs, non-profits, and large enterprises. Often, a customer will contract us for one service and ultimately end up using many of them. Finally, we end up with more dynamic physical spaces. There is a unique energy that comes from both long-term members and short-term customers moving through the space each week. This differentiates the TPC experience from the large chain operators.
In addition to a welcoming work atmosphere and a variety of membership offerings, TPC Ballard members will enjoy access to high speed, secure fiber internet, private phone and huddle rooms, a podcast space, showers, and bike storage. Companies and the general public will be able to rent meeting rooms and training spaces by the hour or day without a membership. The kitchen will serve coffee sourced from long-time partners, Elm Coffee Roasters, and fresh flowers from Washington growers will be an office staple.
Chris says, “I’ve been jealous of my coworking friends around the world who all seem to have rooftop decks, but we finally have one. I’m going to see if we can find a way to use it at least five months out of the year.”
Co-founder Audrey Hoyt will lead the design effort of the new space and respected local builder, Mallet Construction, has been tapped as the general contractor. General Manager, Jamie Hinders, will lead the new location opening in Ballard, building out the operations team and managing pre-sale efforts. Sheila McClung will lead event sales for the Ballard space.
Contact Info
The Pioneer Collective - Ballard
5101 14th Ave NW
Seattle, WA 98107
seattle@thepioneercollective.com
(206) 207-1050
https://www.thepioneercollective.com/seattle-ballard
General inquiries / Front Desk / seattle@thepioneercollective.com
Ballard Opening Lead / Jamie Hinders / jamie@thepioneercollective.com
Co-founder, CFO, Design Lead / Audrey Hoyt / audrey@thepioneercollective.com
Co-founder, CEO / Chris Hoyt / chris@thepioneercollective.com
Events Manager / Sheila McClung / sheila@thepioneercollective.com