SHARED Workspaces on the Rise in Hamilton
By Sebastian Bezuidenhout
Nestled within the Hamilton CBD, directly across from a dutifully managed Wilson’s parking lot, and flanked by cafes, is 71 London Street. The 1950s era, four-storey building that once housed the Waikato Farmer’s Trust is now operating in a radically modern industry: coworking.
71 London Street is one of three ‘coworking’ hubs that is owned by SHARED Workspaces, a Tauranga company that plans to bridge the gap between the traditional office, and the newer ‘work from home’ model that has developed since 2020.
Tony Snow, the owner CEO of Shared Workspaces, believes that there is a demand for flexibility in the commercial real estate business. Rather than a traditional commercial lease, with all the usual overheads involved in renting an entire office, companies can rent as little as one desk for a day.
Members of the company are able to access all three coworking sites in Tauranga, Papamoa, and Hamilton, and pay only for the space used, not the “per-person” charge implemented by other coworking firms. Billing is easy, too, it all comes under a single invoice every month.
Tony is a man of beliefs. He sees Shared Workspaces as part of the solution to New Zealand having “the worst productivity rate in the OECD.” He wants to ensure that companies have a “return-on-commute”, meaning that employees don’t spend hours needlessly commuting to a central office space, instead working from an office closer to home. He also wants to ensure billable hours are used efficiently, away from the distractions of what he calls the “cafe culture”, where meetings and work have tumbled into complacency due to the comforts of the CBD cafe.
Productivity is the focus of Shared Workspaces. Tony wants to foster an environment of work first, fun second, an attitude that may differentiate him from other coworking companies that focus on fun within the working environment. He does not, however, want to rule out the fun entirely:
“We like f-words: flexibility, focus, function.”
Indeed, 71 London Street is conveniently within walking distance of central Hamilton’s many dining and recreational establishments. You can walk from the office to the gym, and then have dinner, all on London Street. The building even offers on-site parking, and great views of the city.
