CoDenton, a communitybased initiative, is excited to announce a new coworking space and entrepreneurial center, Stoke, just east of the Square.
CoDenton (“Connected Denton”) is working to cultivate new business, entrepreneurship, and innovation within the City of Denton. An initiative of the city’s Economic Development Partnership, it is already on its way to helping some of the city’s best minds focus on technological infrastructure and hightech recruitment.
One way of accomplishing this is by providing local startups and innovators with a physical space in which to collaborate, do business, and receive entrepreneurial support in the form of mentorships and educational programming. Stoke is under construction and will be opening its doors to the public in the summer of this year.
“In many ways, Stoke is a microcosm of what’s been happening in Denton for years,” said Aimee Bissett, director of Development Services for the City of Denton. “It’s a space where creative thinkers and entrepreneurs in the community not only have a professional place to work, they can be together with likeminded individuals in an environment where innovation and inspiration can be freely shared.”
The city will receive operations and administrative support for Stoke from the Dallas Entrepreneur Center (DEC), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit which provides a place for local entrepreneurs to receive training, education, mentorship, promotion, and access to capital in order to build and grow their businesses.
“We truly believe that an investment in entrepreneurs is an investment in the community,” said Trey Bowles, cofounder and CEO of the DEC. “We’re really looking forward to sharing some of what we’ve learned over the past few years at the DEC with Denton’s growing startup culture.”
Stoke will be located at 608 E. Hickory St., providing an anchor for Denton’s growing downtown Innovation District. Stoke will live alongside several wellknown local entities—including Swash Labs, Premium Beat, and Keep Denton Beautiful—in a new office development from Links Construction and the Martino Group. The structure itself is adjacent to the DCTA ATrain station and is commonly referred to as The Railyard.
The 9,216squarefoot space at Stoke will feature a large co-working area designed to encourage collaboration and productivity, including stateoftheart technology; a gigabit, dedicated, fiber Internet connection; conference room rentals; and office resources for members and visitors to utilize. This project is expected to be a major asset to the city’s burgeoning startup culture and could help spur an influx of highwage, local jobs and small business growth.
Representatives of CoDenton expect that preleasing for the space will begin in the coming weeks. The cost for monthly memberships will start at $150 for a Coworking Plan (includes access to community desks and other amenities), and $250 for a Dedicated Plan (includes a dedicated desk plus other benefits). For leasing inquiries or further details about membership amenities, email info@stokedenton.com.