FAQs
What is coworking?
Coworking is an arrangement in which people from different organizations share workspace, creating community as well as convenience. The spaces are designed to provide a productive and collaborative environment with flexible memberships and all the workplace amenities!
Is coworking right for me?
If you choose to work independently—or remotely—and your laptop is the primary tool you use to complete your work than the answer is probably yes.
If you value the idea of having a clean, convenient and flexible place to work, then it most definitely is yes.
As a bonus, you won’t just be joining a workspace, you’ll be joining a community and have the opportunity (if you choose!) to interact with other independent workers on a daily basis to ask questions, get technical advice or just to have someone around who to join you for lunch.
If you’d rather just go heads down and work without the interruptions you’re used to at home or a coffee shop, than it is the place for you, too. We have lots of spaces to hideaway where you won’t be distracted as you get work done.
What kinds of businesses are in your space? I've heard it's all tech people.
Nope, it’s a little bit of everything—entrepreneurs, freelancers, remote workers, startups, artists, nonprofits, small businesses. We’re a workplace community of people who enjoy working independently but don't want to work alone.
We’ve been lucky to count novelists, realtors, grad students writing their thesis, attorneys, artists, software developers, territory managers and several other professions amongst our ranks.
What is the difference between coworking and a traditional office lease?
Great question! It’s a sort of apples-to-oranges comparison but everyone always asks about it.
Coworking is shared office space with a focus on building a great community, not just filling office suites. In our community, you’re a member—not a tenant—and you join with whatever membership plans work for you (a floating seat, a dedicated desk or an actual office).
With a coworking membership, your work place is ready to go the day you join, no need to negotiate lease rates, setup internet service or order furniture. All of our memberships are fixed fee and month-to-month. In a traditional office lease you’ll need to weigh things like the price per square foot, figure out whether utilities, taxes, maintenance, etc. are included in your lease rate and you’ll need to commit to a pretty long term (usually 5-7 years). Our membership plans are great for individuals but also for small businesses and remote teams that know they’ll like scale and compress over time. Need to hire up for that next six month project? Just add another office or group of desks to your plan and then you can drop it off when the project finishes. Easy peasy. Think of it like Commercial Real Estate-as-a-Service.
In our coworking community, your membership includes things like unlimited access to the conference rooms, phone booths and kitchen, we have our Community Managers on-site to answer questions and greet visitors and access to our event programming (everything from user groups and monthly meetups to yoga to art exhibitions). It’s an all-inclusive type of thing and it changes for the better as our community continues to grow.
I talk on the phone a lot. Is that a big deal?
Nope! The atmosphere is pretty laid back, so you won’t be bothering anyone. If you need to make a private call, one of the conferences rooms or phone booths are available to reserve at a moment’s notice!
Tell me about the coffee. Coffee is important.
We serve high-quality coffee sourced from local third-wave coffee shops at all our locations. At Gravitate we serve a few blends from our friends at Windmill Coffee Roasters in Ames, Iowa!
Is it appropriate to bring my clients to the office? I'm a pretty big deal.
Yes, absolutely. Your clients and visitors are always welcome—this is your office, after all. You can meet them at the front door when they come in or our on-site Community Managers can help guide them to you. You can book meeting rooms with full A/V capabilities in our membership system or grab an open spot in the cafe, open the doors and grab a spot in the garage on a nice day or whatever best suits your meeting.
What do people wear? Is there a dress code?
On any given day, you can find people wearing everything from suit jackets to sweatshirts. We’re an inclusive community and we want people to be as comfortable as they can be so things are pretty casual. However, you’re encouraged to wear what you feel is appropriate for your style of work.
What are my options for parking?
Working at Gravitate Downtown or East Village?
There are four-hour metered parking along nearby streets ($1.25/hour). Pay via kiosk or app. Parking garages are also readily available see map or visit this page for more details.
Working at Gravitate Midtown?
Parking here is free! We have parking lots immediately adjacent to our space on the south and east sides and you are welcome to use them.
Working at Gravitate Jefferson?
Parking here is free, too! Yeah for small towns where the street parking is free and plentiful.
Is Gravitate dog friendly?
Yes, dogs (and cats!) are welcome at Gravitate with private office memberships. As much as we’d love to have a big pack of doggo friends roaming our spaces that isn’t as conducive to work as one might think. Check with your Community Manager to see the guidelines and expectations for your specific space. Our full pet policy can be viewed here.
Hercules, Gravitate’s own big yellow coworking dog, is on-site at Gravitate Midtown a few times each week and does his absolute best to fill in for all of our members who can’t have their own pups with them in the office. He’s earned the title of Canine Good Citizen—Advanced from the American Kennel Club and passed the test to qualify as a therapy dog with Therapy Dogs International. In other words, he’s a real good boy.
Downtown Des Moines
Where to eat: Hy-Vee on Court Ave, Blue Sushi Sake Grill, Potbelly Sandwich Shop, Local Bites Food Court, Fresko Natural Food, Fong's Pizza, Wasabi Tao, South Union Bread Cafe, Bubba, Malo Latin Cuisine, Akebono Japanese Restaurant
Where to chill: Horizon Line
Where to exercise: Wellmark YMCA, Anytime Fitness, Central Iowa bike trails, Powerlife
Where to play: Secret Admirer, Mulberry Street Tavern, Hello Marjorie, The Royal Mile
DES MOINES EAST VILLAGE
Lunch: Nosh Eatery, Open Sesame (T-S), Zavy Kitchen, Quinton’s Bar & Deli, Olympic Flame, Lucca (T-F), Clyde’s Fine Diner (Th-S), Bar Nico (F-Sun), Vibrant Coffeehouse, Plain Talk Books & Coffee, The Continental
Dinner: Clyde’s Fine Diner (T-S), Bar Nico (T-Sun), Open Sesame (T-S), Zavy Kitchen, Quinton’s Bar & Deli, Olympic Flame, Lucca (T-F), The Continental.
Cafe: Daisy Chain Coffee, Vibrant Coffeehouse, Plain Talk Books & Coffee.
Where to exercise: Wellmark YMCA, Anytime Fitness, Central Iowa bike trails, Power Life Yoga Barre Fitness East Village
Where to play: The Continental, Bellhop Neighborhood Tiki, The Republic on Grand
WINDSOR HEIGHTS
Where to eat: Mojitos Mexican Grill, Kathmandu Nepalese Restaurant, B-Bop’s, The Bake Shoppe
Cafe: Grounds For Celebration
Where to exercise: Walnut Creek YMCA
Where to play: 515 Brewing
In town on business and planning to work at Gravitate? Here are some nearby hotels to consider.
WINDSOR HEIGHTS
Coworking communities are popular all across Iowa and here are a some of our favorites:
CoworkQC
102 E 2nd St, Davenport, IA 52801
Vault Coworking & Collaboration Space
415 12th Ave SE #201, Cedar Rapids, IA 52401
MERGE
136 S. Dubuque St, Iowa City, IA 52240