Brick House Blue to open coworking space at Innovate New Albany with Barry Bagels shop

The city of New Albany is stepping up its efforts to help small businesses and startups.

The city has announced that it is opening Brick House Blue at Innovate New Albany. The project includes the addition of a Barry Bagels shop at the location.

Innovate New Albany is the city’s incubator for technology startups, entrepreneurs and small businesses at 7775 Walton Parkway in the city's business park that opened in 2008. Government officials, area businesses, venture capitalists and others provide guidance, expertise, and services that new businesses need to succeed.

Brick House Blue, founded in 2018, is a Dublin-based company that offers coworking options, private offices, executive suites and meeting places.

As part of the plan, the city is renovating 22,000 square feet of space on the first floor at Innovate New Albany. Innovate New Albany is currently on the third floor and will move to the first floor when the work is complete, which is expected in December.

Brick House Blue will operate the space, which incudes offices, huddle rooms, a podcasting suite, refreshment stations and 24-hour access.

Brick House Blue also will manage meeting and event space that can accommodate groups of eight to more than 100 people that is available to anyone who wants space.

“Together with Brick House Blue, our new coworking partner, we are excited to offer a one-of-a-kind model to help businesses accelerate growth while navigating barriers,” Mayor Sloan Spalding said in a statement. “It’s another example of the innovation ecosystem that leverages partnerships and builds productive alliances to allow our city to attract and retain a remarkable range and caliber of companies.”

“We are excited to find a partner that shares our commitment to inspire individuals, teams, and organizations to discover, build, and grow,” Brick House Blue founder and co-CEO Cid Rhomberg said. “Our goal at Brick House Blue is to offer a collaborative work community for people of all backgrounds, from entrepreneurs and remote workers to corporate executives and New Albany’s commitment to partnerships and community make it the right fit for us.”

The deal with Blue will allow Innovate New Albany to expand the suite of services, and educational and training programs it offers.

“It’s a great opportunity to pivot and focus our attention on providing more of the programs and services that businesses need to succeed,” Neil Collins, Innovate New Albany hub leader, said in a statement.

The arrival of Brick House Blue also will mark the debut of Barry Bagels . Barry Bagels, which has served bagels that are boiled and baked fresh daily since 1972, will open a lobby cafe to provide drinks, bagels, breakfast and lunch sandwiches, salads and catering.

mawilliams@dispatch.com

@BizMarkWilliams

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Brick House Blue to open coworking space at Innovate New Albany with Barry Bagels shop