Look inside: Plexpod opens coworking oasis amid River Market’s concrete jungle (Photos)

May 9, 2019  |  Tommy Felts

Plexpod River Market

Faux grass lining the walls. Neon signs. A mix of vintage and contemporary stylings.

Plexpod River Market

Plexpod River Market

Plexpod’s Eric Milner was initially skeptical of plans for a jungle theme in one of the co-working space’s enclaves — quirky seating areas tucked between offices and amenities at the new River Market location.

“It really panned out though. Stephanie [Medina] and the rest of the team have this really cool, creative eye. I’m always blown away by what they come up with,” said Milner, Plexpod community manager for River Market and Crossroads.

The fourth Plexpod location in Kansas City, the 22-office River Market space opened in April with members already beginning to create their own workplaces inside, he said. The space itself comes with a different character among Plexpod’s other metro offerings, added Kelsey Creed, Plexpod community connector.

“Each of our locations is very unique in vibe,” Creed said. “We tell our members to pick and choose which fits their model best, which is their ideal workplace.”

River Market offers traditional coworking, offices for teams of one to 10, two large conference rooms and a fitness gym for members.

Click here to learn more about booking a space at Plexpod River Market.

Click here to read Plexpod’s fall announcement of the River Market location along the KC Streetcar line.

Plexpod already operates coworking communities in Lenexa, the Crossroads Arts District and Midtown (its Westport Commons space). River Market is expected help Plexpod continue growing memberships across its coworking community network, since members gain access to all four spaces.

Plexpod River Market

Plexpod River Market

Filling the first two floors of 510 Delaware, the River Market space is the smallest Plexpod coworking site to date — but is expected to be more conducive to community events with a large next-door courtyard and stage.

The popular jungle-themed enclave features a view of Kansas City’s skyline from the perspective of a south-facing view, an uncommon look at the city that will be expanded as more windows are opened up along the building’s southern exterior wall.

“There’s a sense of discovery at every Plexpod location,” Milner said. “[Plexpod founder] Gerald [Smith] has been really intentional about that.”

The 8,000-square-foot space is still weeks away from full operation, he acknowledged, but the amount of work completed since the location was announced in the fall is astounding.

“We’ve had people interested in the space since November,” Milner said. “It’s been kind of a funny progression — as we’ve been touring the past few months — to see the evolution of people really starting to understand what we have planned here.”

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Tommy Felts

Tommy is editor-in-chief for Startland News, a Kansas City-based nonprofit newsroom that uses storytelling to elevate the region’s startup community of entrepreneurs, innovators, hustlers, creatives and risk-takers.

Under Tommy’s leadership, Startland News has expanded its coverage from a primarily high-tech, high-growth focus to a more wide-ranging and inclusive look at the faces of entrepreneurism, innovation and business.

Before joining Startland News in 2017, Tommy worked for 12 years as an award-winning newspaper journalist, designer, editor and publisher. He was named one of Editor & Publisher magazine’s top “25 Under 35” in 2014.

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