Uniland Development Company’s coworking space downtown has a name: HANSA. HANSA (pronounced hähn-sä) is Latin for “guild,” meaning to unite people for a common purpose. The facility at 505 Ellicott Street will offer fully-furnished workspaces from traditional coworking to private offices, suites and meeting rooms with generous amenities.
Uniland is currently renovating a former warehouse at 505 Ellicott Street where HANSA will open in the spring. The building, which also include a privately-operated café and two apartments, is being outfitted with new skylights, windows, a focal-point staircase leading to a second story, and an outdoor patio. A new brick façade and exterior lighting will align the building with its neighbors and visitors inside will be energized by the chic industrial interior design and the fusion of modern office and residential furniture and decor.
HANSA’s two-level workspace will offer:
• Coworking: open, unreserved desks and seats
• Dedicated Desks: a reserved space within our open environment
• Private offices for one or two people
• Team Rooms for groups of three to six people
• Private suites for up to 20 people, including offices and a meeting room
• Meeting rooms for up to 45 attendees
• Special event spaces for up to 230 guests
HANSA co-founder and Uniland Vice President of Marketing and Strategic Initiatives, Carl Montante Jr, has been committed to bringing this service to Buffalo for the last few years. Mr. Montante toured similar centers around the country and Toronto, both at larger and peer cities, and saw the strength of creating a local brand rather than franchising with a national one. The HANSA brand was born from a collaborative process between Uniland and The Martin Group. HANSA’s modular logo represents the flexibility that this facility provides its members.
“Although it’s a natural extension of Uniland’s office space business, we felt it was important to make it a separate business because of the emphasis on offering a hospitality-like service to our members,” Montante said. “Our goal at HANSA is to be a hands-on business partner for our members rather than merely a landlord.”
Uniland has hired a HANSA Community Manager, Laura Jimenez, who will manage the center, on-board members, build the culture, and create the unique programs based on members’ interests.
“HANSA is where individuals and teams will enjoy a sophisticated and technologically advanced workspace with a friendly culture. It’s where hard-working and innovative professionals can thrive, connect and have fun,” said Jimenez.
While Buffalo has coworking spaces for start-ups and private offices for established professionals, the region does not have an all-in-one turnkey offering with everything in between, plus small and large meeting rooms. Therefore, businesses must go through the lengthy process of searching for traditional office space, negotiating leases, buying furniture and equipment, and coordinating the move. In larger cities where this type of work environment is prevalent, both small and large businesses have seen the following benefits of using this type of space:
• Lower occupancy costs
• Move-in and start working in a matter of days versus months
• Flexible terms that allow members to grow or decrease space needs
• A collaborative work environment where networking, creativity, and productivity thrive
Annual and monthly memberships are available, and daily passes start at just $25. Many pricing options will be available. Most memberships include amenities such as:
• high-speed and reliable internet service
• 24/7 secure access
• on-site support team
• technology-equipped training and meeting rooms
• podcast room
• exclusive business seminars and networking happy hours
• open concept kitchen with café tables
• fresh food delivery
• on-site wellness activities
• mother’s room
• meditation room
• lockable storage
• outdoor patio
• indoor bike storage
• access to private phone booths
• changing rooms with showers
• free coffee and snacks
• local craft beer on tap at special events
Get Connected: HANSA, 716.256.2500