New co-working space provides modern facility to tenants

NEW HARTFORD, N.Y. — The Network at 600 French is a new professional working space designed to serve as a permanent home for businesses looking for a modern space without the burden of owning and maintaining their own building. The space is the idea of Matt Wilson of MPW Marketing and Bill Matteson of Upstate Wealth Consulting. The two businesses were sharing space at 8378 Seneca Turnpike but were looking for something a little newer, Wilson says. “We saw an opportunity to do something a little more impressive,” he says. It’s all about wanting clients to have a top-notch experience, he adds. When Matteson suggested they look for a space big enough to house their businesses and others, Wilson was on board with the idea. After looking around for about five months, the pair discovered the former Prudential Carrucci Real Estate space at 600 French Road. “It had been vacant for a while,” Wilson says, but was perfect for what he and Matteson had in mind. Work involved gutting the 4,500-square-foot space down to the studs and working with ROI Office Interiors in Rome and Uniquely Yours Interior Design to layout and furnish a sleek, modern office space. The result is the Network at 600 French, which serves as the new headquarters for MPW Marketing and Upstate Wealth Consulting and offers space for lease to other businesses. Unlike a more traditional co-working space, however, the Network at 600 French isn’t intended to be transient space, Wilson says. Tenants can lease desk space or private office space, and they all share the conference and meeting rooms, kitchen, and huddle rooms, using a software system to reserve the spaces. There’s even a podcast/audio production suite. The setup is ideal for a small business, say a one- or two-person professional office that needs a professional space, he notes. There are already several tenants in the space, including Albany–based CSArch, which found the location ideal when it was looking to open a Utica area office. Human resources-consulting firm Empower Business Strategies is also a tenant. The Network at 600 French donated space for the Center for Leadership Excellence to use as well. The response to the space, which opened in August, has been overwhelmingly positive, Wilson says. CSArch and Empower signed on before the space was even completed. With MPW and Upstate Wealth also renting space, there is only one office and a couple of desks that are still available as of press time. On top of having a new space he’s excited to welcome clients to, Wilson says it also costs MPW only about one-third of what the space on Seneca Turnpike cost, so it’s been a win-win. Upstate Wealth, the largest tenant in the space, is saving about 40 percent, he estimates. Beyond the impressive space and the savings, Wilson is also finding he’s enjoying the bustling office after years of remote working during the pandemic. “What I didn’t expect was the connectivity, the conversations with tenants,” he says. “Not only have we got this great space, we’re building new relationships.”