Bull Moose Club — Albany, N.Y.
Coworking in New York’s State Capitol
In January we held the grand opening for our second coworking community in New York’s Capital Region — Bull Moose Club. The 518 boasts a stable economy due to a concentration of jobs in the government, health care and education sectors, bolstered by a growing creative and tech sector. Our Troy Innovation Garage project located just a few miles north from the State Capitol in the revitalizing downtown of Troy, NY. Troy is home to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) and about 50,000 people. Downtown is one of the most walkable in all of America, with beautifully laid out Victorian-era buildings that date to boomtown days when Troy was the key intersection of the Hudson River and Erie Canal. It made sense for us to open up in Albany too though because the political economy, a robust business sector in Albany, as well as private businesses that work for the state government, was totally underserved. Here is the announcement we made:
Aurelius Coworks Announces Grand Opening of Bull Moose Club
Second development project located across the street from the New York State Capitol in Downtown Albany
ALBANY, NY — Today, the Aurelius Coworks team — joined by city, county and state officials, and leaders of the region’s business community — announced the grand opening of Albany’s newest coworking community, Bull Moose Club.
Located across the street from state Capitol at 150 State Street, the 10,000-square-foot space was gutted and transformed into a mix of flexible workspace and offices, with the ability to feature incubator, networking and social programs.
Bull Moose Club offers 22 private offices (all of which already have been rented by a collection of technology, startups, consultancies, associations, and advocacy groups), five conference and meeting rooms, and an open coworking space with sweeping views of the State Capitol, Albany City Hall and downtown Albany.
Bull Moose Club Founder and Aurelius Coworks CEO Tom Nardacci said, “Troy Innovation Garage and Bull Moose Club are critical to meet the needs of the Capital Region’s evolving private sector economy, particularly the growth of software startups, new creative businesses, and an influx of professionals who work remotely and choose to live in Upstate New York.”
Nardacci helped put coworking on the regional map with the launch of the Troy Innovation Garage in 2017 in the heart of a resurgent downtown Troy. The building once housed an automobile dealership, which sold Buffalo-built Pierce Arrows in the 1920s and sat mostly vacant for 30 years until the Garage opened as a home to tech and creative sector workers. It is now home to 115 members.
Annual wages at the Garage exceed $7 million, and members make a significant contribution to the local economy, including the $350,000 in direct retail spending in downtown Troy. The Garage has room for 50 more part time coworking members, and Aurelius Coworks has a focused marketing effort to grow the community.
In December 2017, Troy Innovation Garage was named “Innovative Development Project of the Year” by the Capital Region Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA). That same month, New York Empire State Development’s Regional Economic Development Council (REDC) highlighted the $1.5 million, 14,000 square foot Troy Innovation Garage project as one of New York State’s development success stories for the year.
The design and branding of the latest Aurelius venture at 150 State Street in Albany was inspired by the career of President and former New York Governor Theodore Roosevelt. Founded in 1902, Roosevelt’s progressive political movement, nicknamed the Bull Moose Party, provided an alternative to the two-party system. Now, changemakers on both sides of the aisle will have a space in downtown Albany where they can come together to engage, learn and connect.
Nardacci said he wasn’t surprised that office suites sold out during the soft opening period after the same pace of rentals occurred after the soft opening of the Garage. Bull Moose Club is now seeking more full- and part-time coworking members to meet membership goals, and staff is developing a schedule of events and activities.
The Aurelius team is considering other opportunities in the Capital Region, other upstate cities and neighboring states. Aurelius Coworks has hired CRESA to represent them in real estate dealings.
3tarchitects designed Troy Innovation Garage and Bull Moose Club. Pike Construction built Bull Moose Club. Couch, White handled legal matters.
More information on Bull Moose Club and its services and events is available on its website bullmooseclub.com.
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About Bull Moose Club: Bull Moose Club offers members access to a service-oriented, hyper-charged coworking ecosystem featuring common work spaces bustling with energy, private office suites, and group meeting rooms. Bull Moose Club serves startups, business executives, advocacy groups, trade associations, lobbyists, creative professionals, and entrepreneurs in a refined, meticulously renovated space near the center of the New York State Capitol complex.
