In just eight months WOTSO Whangārei in the heart of New Zealand’s North Island has rapidly evolved into a crucial business and community hub.
WOTSO has transformed a former car yard into a buzzing flexible workspace with private offices, coworking, meeting rooms, an event space, communal areas, a stocked kitchen and secure, fast internet.
Whangārei, New Zealand’s biggest city north of Auckland, has never seen anything like it and Space Leader Sarah Selkirk says appetite for private office space is so strong, WOTSO has just installed 12 new office pods to meet demand.
“We have eight private offices inside the main building which have been full since the beginning of this year so we decided to expand our capacity with these new office pods,” she says.
The pods – which come in two sizes for up to four people – are now positioned under cover outside the main building and new members are already moving in.
Selkirk says community connection is the major reason entrepreneurs, remote workers and businesses are joining WOTSO.
“Most of our members are solo workers who come to WOTSO to connect with people,” Selkirk says. “They come because they’re sick of talking to the dog or the cat and want to talk to humans again.”
And she does everything possible to bring people together.
Two major initiatives are Monday Mingle for members to catch up after the weekend, and Foodtruck Friday, which utilises the generous outdoor car park and attracts people from throughout the city.
“There’s not many food outlets close by with easy parking, and it’s become a popular community gathering place,” she says.
“I was out there today and a lady stopped and said, ‘I’ve seen you on Instagram and wanted to say thanks for doing this because this is where I meet my friends on a Friday for lunch’.”
WOTSO is the first major coworking brand to open in Whangārei, and has been busy since opening last October.
In fact, so busy that there hasn’t been time to organise an opening party – until now – combining it with a Northland Chamber of Commerce Business After Five Networking on Wednesday evening.
“It was a great night. Everybody’s keen to see what the new pods look like, and also get a sense of what’s happening at WOTSO because of our expansion.”
WOTSO Whangārei is at 31 Hannah Street, Whangārei, just one block from the CBD and close to lively Town Basin on the Hatea River. Any queries, please email whangarei@wotso.com
