CEED building projected to be open in September
The first of three major furniture shipments has come in for the Center for Education and Economic Development. The building, which will serve as a networking hub and office for the Mission Economic Development Corporation, has slowly been transitioning from an abandoned building to a fully-functioning co-working space for business professionals.
MEDC Chief Operating Officer Daniel Silva said he and CEO Alex Meade are pushing for an Aug. 1 furniture completion date. One of the furniture pieces is on backorder until September, but once the seating, table tops and wiring is in place, Silva said the facility should be open to the public by mid September.
“We need to get in, we need to make sure that everything is working correctly,” the COO said. “We want to be ambitious, but we don’t want to set ourselves up to fail so
I think by mid September it gives us a good cushion and we can make sure that everything is functioning properly.”
The 55,000-square foot location will include 285 open seats, which includes various types of table setups. Office spaces will be available, as well as classrooms, conference rooms, a lecture hall and audio and sound production room. Similar to a gym membership, the CEED will require a monthly fee that can range from $35 to $200. Each fee level grants access to different CEED services.
“We try to provide as many options as possible,” Silva said. “Kind of like a gym, you’re not given a specific piece of equipment you can work on, but you can work on what is available, based on your level of membership.”
The MEDC is also working out a partnership with a coffee shop to be housed inside the building. The revenue from the office space, memberships and coffee shop should generate enough to pay rent and to pay off the $2 million loan.
“We’ve been working on this for about two years — the thinking and architectural renderings and finally the construction and now that we’re seeing it, it’s fun,” Silva said. “We’re anxious to get started, but once it’s up and running we know that we need to fill it up.”
