You may have heard about the booming business in co-working – places where you can rent a desk, office, or conference room on an hourly-to-monthly basis, with IT and other amenities, plus people to chat with over coffee when you need a break.

Well, Greenbelt now has its own – called Business Gate, on Edmonston Road near the intersection of Greenbelt Road with Kenilworth Avenue, about a 15 minute walk to the Metro.

Pricing

I’m told the prices are well below other co-office spaces in the DC area. There are regular specials, like free conference rooms this month.

Who are the Users?

Users of Business Gate are called members, and one of the very first was Simone Little, who has since been hired as the company’s Community Manager, providing assistance to members and handling the day-to-day operations. She’d been working there as a self-employed assistant-for-hire or “virtual assistant.” (Boy, could I use one of those.)

Other members at Business Gate include a construction firm, people in IT, and a women’s empowerment group called Girl Boss Meetup.

Simone sums it up: “The major of members use our spaces as their offices. Most are entrepreneurs who need somewhere to work from other than home. Some have one or two employees, therefore they need a neutral location to share information and ideas.” 

Unlike the WeWork chain, which recently opened a location in College Park, Business Gate is local. It IS listed on the national directories Liquid Space and Desktime, so even out-of-towners can find it.

Business Gate’s building on Edmonston Road is what’s called a HUBZone, or historically underused building. That means renters get priority preference when applying for government contracts.

Art at Business Gate

Notice all the art in these photos? Simone explained that “We love the arts community!” and that her goal is to have quarterly art shows, giving art some visibility and the artists an opportunity to monetize their passion. Their first show is planned for late fall.