While the perks of working from home are numerous and obvious — the comfort of your Dark Side of the Moon pajama bottoms, an unmolested cache of yogurts, the decadence of your white-collar procrastination — the isolation can be less than ideal. Take it from a freelancer and professional layabout, your brain and social muscles atrophy in the cozy climes of your home “office.” (Scare quotes necessary where home “office” refers to any combination of Netflix and your living room couch.) Coming November, fellow hermits, you’ll have a community to call your own, via private shared workspace at Ceaux in Downtown.
Ceaux (pronounced “co” as in “co”-worker) is a joint venture between Geoff Daily, former Lafayette General Foundation director, and Greg Walls, a developer/contractor and co-owner of Johnson’s Boucanière. Shared independent workspace is not entirely new to Lafayette, but Ceaux aims to foster a more private and stable roster of professionals with an emphasis on long-term space contracts. The idea is to plop a community of heretofore isolated professionals right in the heart of Downtown, a light stroll from the cultural amenities of the Lafayette’s Central Business District.
“Downtown is the kind of place where you don’t have to get in your car again. Walk to lunch. Take a break and walk to a coffee shop,” says Daily.
While startups are welcome, Ceaux is open to any independent professional looking for the creative and social possibilities that come with an office environment but want to remain more logistically nimble than a traditional brick and mortar office setting allows. Daily says he’s had initial conversations with a variety of industries, noting the space has the potential to attract folks in software development, land and title professionals and traveling types who need a home base when returning to Lafayette. The hook is that the space will cater to those looking to work specifically in a communal environment.
The open cubical floor plan in the back of the building at 1019 Lee Ave. (owned by Walls and currently housing Crossfit Acadiana) encourages an atmosphere of casual engagement among members. Got a question? Poke your head around the divider and say hello. The name of the game is actively fostering a collaborative environment between disparate professional groups, corralling workplace dynamics into inspiration.
“When you work from home, you don’t have an opportunity for serendipitous collisions,” says Daily.
Ceaux will feature a front board room with a modular conference table that can be configured to accommodate a variety of public and private events, like ArtWalk exhibits and lectures. Space at Ceaux is available for $500 per month on a six-month contract, or at $575 per month on a month-to-month basis. For more information, click here.