Two new co-working spaces and business incubators to debut in the city

One of the biggest trends in development lately has been the co-working space. A number of them have opened in the past few years and some, like downtown's Bamboo, have experienced significant upgrades. Here are two more co-working spaces making the news today.

In Midtown, Lawrence Technological University's Detroit Center for Design + Technology (DCDT) recently debuted a co-working space with creative professionals in mind called DCDT Cowork. They'll soon complement DCDT Cowork with an in-house design studio, DCDT fellowship program, and the DCDT Design Accelerator program. As a whole, it's called Design Incubator and launches in February.

DCDT is accepting applications to the Design Accelerator program until Feb. 10. The 10-week course for aspiring entrepreneurs begins Feb. 15 and ends with a Pop-Up Showcase where two winners will be selected for $2,500 seed grants.

"This 10-week program packs it all in, from legal considerations to branding and more," says Karen Evans, director of the DCDT Design Incubator. "The Design Accelerator is completely hands-on, giving you the expertise and space for improving on each component of your business from week to week, with guidance from experienced facilitators."

Lawrence Technological University's Detroit Center for Design + Technology is located at 4219 Woodward Ave. in Detroit.

Opening downtown is SpaceLab Detroit, a new co-working space geared more toward building industry professionals. SpaceLab is scheduled to open on the seventh floor of 607 Shelby St. this March. Renovations are currently underway at the 5,200 sq. ft. space.

With a design library, conference rooms, project display areas, a community kitchen, large-format plotters, and education and networking events, president and managing partner Karen Burton is designing SpaceLab to appeal to a range of building industry professionals, from architects to community development organizations, real estate agents to interior designers.

Burton is a marketing consultant to architects and engineers and has previously served as an architectural designer.

"As an entrepreneur, I know what it's like to work from home without all the amenities of a typical large office, including being able to turn to a co-worker to share an idea," says Burton. "I understand the need for solopreneurs and small businesses to be able to collaborate and share resources."

SpaceLab Detroit is a Round 4 Motor City Match Space Awardee.

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