By: Brett O’Daniell
For the past several years, The Commons has become a familiar part of New Town—a place to work, hold a meeting, attend or host an event, take a fitness class or simply connect with others in the community.
Now, a new partnership is changing how one part of The Commons operates while creating more capacity for the organization behind it to grow.
The Commons has entered into a Managed Partnership Agreement with International Workplace Group (IWG), transitioning its coworking operation to HQ at The Commons. It is IWG’s first location in St. Charles County, bringing the global flexible-workspace company into the community for the first time.
The IWG name may be unfamiliar to some, but one of its brands probably isn’t: Regus. IWG, founded as Regus in 1989, today operates several workspace brands, including Regus, Spaces, HQ and Signature. HQ is its practical, flexible workspace brand serving everyone from entrepreneurs and small businesses to larger companies.
Paul Dinkins remains owner of Commons Group, while IWG assumes day-to-day management of the coworking operation.
A Much Bigger Workplace
For members, the partnership connects their New Town workspace to something much larger.
HQ members will have access to 17 IWG-affiliated workspaces throughout the St. Louis area, more than 2,000 locations across the United States and thousands more worldwide. The New Town location will continue offering private offices, meeting rooms, coworking and creative spaces while transitioning bookings, billing and member services to the HQ platform.
“This partnership gives us the best of both worlds,” Dinkins said. “HQ brings the reach, resources and experience of a global workspace company, while we remain deeply rooted in New Town and Saint Charles.”
But the change is about more than coworking.
More Room to Grow
With IWG managing the daily coworking operation, Commons Group can put additional energy into the other businesses and initiatives that have been developing around it.
That includes Shire Lane Estate being transformed into a year-round event and hospitality destination, as well as Commons Fitness and the recent residential purchase of 3332 Rue Royale located next door to HQ at The Commons. Together, these properties establish Commons Group’s physical presence in New Town and create opportunities for community-focused uses.
Meanwhile, NTxConnect continues to grow as well. What began as a way to better connect New Town residents with local events, businesses and community information continues to expand as a hyper-local media platform serving “New Town and Beyond.”
And there are two newer pieces of the Commons Group vision beginning to take shape.
Investing in Community
Commons Foundation is the charitable arm of the organization, built around a philosophy summed up as “Hyper Local. Hyper Global. Nothing in Between”
The “Hyper Local” mission includes helping neighbors in need during crises and supporting the local resilient enterprises that strengthen the immediate community. The “Hyper Global” mission is intentionally different, supporting under-resourced ministries and organizations working with difficult to reach populations, or as Paul likes to say, “Our across-the-puddle porch buddies.”
Then there is Commons Invest, an initiative in the works that will give individuals an opportunity to participate in the ownership of the real estate connected to the Commons Group portfolio through Regulation Crowdfunding.
The offering has not yet officially launched. Specific investment terms, risks and use of proceeds will be provided through the formal offering materials when the offering officially launches. But its inclusion in Commons Group’s expanding portfolio offers another glimpse at where the organization is headed.
The Next Chapter
Taken together, the changes reveal why the arrival of HQ matters beyond a new name on the coworking space.
The partnership brings the resources and network of a global workspace company to St. Charles County while allowing Commons Group to concentrate more of its attention on what comes next—Shire Lane Estate, NTxConnect, Fitness Center, Commons Foundation, Commons Invest and other community-focused efforts.
The Commons people have come to love isn't disappearing.
Instead, it is becoming one part of a larger vision, one that remains locally owned, rooted in New Town and increasingly focused on what can be built from here.