Shared office space coming to Warren

The owners of Sprout Co-Working, a shared office studio in Providence, have purchased the former Acktiques building at 489 Main St. and plan to convert it into a similar co-working space early next year.

Zachary and Shari Weinberger closed on the sale Thursday, paying $430,000 for the 1865 brick building formerly owned by Acktiques proprietor Edward “Ted” Ackley, who now lives in Hope Valley. Warren resident Paula Silva of William Raveis Realty handled the sale.

“Warren just makes sense for us,” said Sprout community engagement manager Luis Barrios. “It will give us access to people who are looking for space in the East Bay.”

Sprout Co-Working offers shared office space to tenants who want to work without long-term rental commitments. Marketed to freelancers, start-ups and other professionals, Sprout charges a flat monthly fee from $50 to $200, as well as $20 day passes, to use its facilities and offers dedicated seating, flexible seating, meeting rooms, wifi, coffee and other office amenities. The Providence location, in the Rising Sun Mills complex at 166 Valley St., has about 75 members and Sprout plans to expand into an adjacent space next door next year, doubling its Providence capacity.

“We’ve been steadily growing,” Mr. Barrios said. “The awareness for places like us is growing rapidly in Providence. A lot of people don’t like to drive more than 20 minutes to get to the office; the concept is big in Los Angeles, Boston and New York.”

Mr. Barrios said plans for the Warren space are still coming together, and he does not know how many clients the Warren location will be able to accommodate. But at 4,905 square feet, the building has plenty of room, he said.

“We thought it was the perfect location,” he said.

Ms. Silva said she is excited to have a new business on Main Street, and was happy to learn that Sprout plans to utilize Warren craftsmen do as much of the renovation and remodeling work as possible.

“This is good news,” she said.