This is the first tenant to open as a result of a dedicated Pop-Up Office application process.
For more information, contact: Jen Cadieux: 937-224-1518, ext. 226
Dayton, Ohio (September 30, 2015) ― Activated Spaces, an initiative to fill downtown storefronts, is launching its new phase of the program called Pop-Up Office with the opening of Mitosis in the Walker Building at 14 W. First St. Mitosis is a full-service creative agency, providing creative, production, and distribution services. This includes digital brand experiences, search engine optimization, Google Analytics, and video production and editing.
“Mitosis creates digital experiences that transform and enhance the human experience,” said Tyler Back, principal director at Mitosis. “It’s not just about a website or a video solution. It’s the ability to see something, an opportunity, that solves a client’s problem and then design an experience to make it easier, better, faster, stronger – all to enhance the human experience. Our goal at Mitosis is to make it easier for our clients to do business with their clients.”
The Pop-Up Office project is mirrored after Activated Spaces’ successful Pop-Up Project, which traditionally focused on matching retail- and restaurant-based business owners with downtown property owners who have first floor space available for occupancy.
The Activated Spaces team is launching this new initiative to attract start-ups and other small businesses that will add energy and vibrancy to downtown office buildings. The project launched Catapult Creative as a pilot office tenant in 2014 to test the viability of a pop-up office space. After seeing the success of this business, the team is excited to expand into selection rounds strictly geared toward office space seekers.
“This is something we’ve been looking at for a couple years,” said Pop-Up Project leader Elise Huelskamp. “As the project continued to be a success, we wanted to see what we could tackle next in order to grow and develop the program, and we felt we could apply it to the concept of short-term, office-space leasing. We’re excited to add a great new business in Mitosis to downtown and hope we can continue to grow our office space tenants.”
Attracted to competitive lease rates and the combination of authenticity, walkability, connectivity, and community only available in the center city, more and more entrepreneurs and small business owners are choosing a downtown address. Since 2010, more than 90 start-ups (including 19 Pop-Up Shops) have launched in the downtown core and the number of small businesses is steadily growing. The Pop-up Office Project seeks to build on this momentum.
“I’m a huge advocate for the Downtown Dayton Partnership and the Activated Spaces Initiative; they are doing some incredible things for the city,” said Back. “The Pop-Up Project is a fantastic opportunity for new businesses in Dayton to get started with a strong foundation. They are bringing people back into downtown. They are making a difference to bring the downtown Dayton area back to life.”
This program builds on the last four years of success for the Pop-Up Project, launched in November 2011, to provide potential business owners the opportunity for shorter leases at below-market rates as a way for them to jump-start their businesses and contribute to the vibrancy of downtown Dayton. Since it was started, the project has launched 19 businesses (14 of which are still open), filled over 16,000 square feet of previously vacant space and created 42 jobs. The most recent shops launched this past spring are Twist Cupcakery and Fronana, and the program plans to continue to target both retail and office spaces.
The Pop-Up Project is driven by volunteers from the young professional organizations UpDayton and Generation Dayton with support from the Downtown Dayton Partnership, the City of Dayton, the City of Dayton Neighborhood Mini-Grant program, and community volunteers. Activated Spaces is part of the Greater Downtown Dayton Plan, a strategic blueprint for the future of downtown.
