Workspace is valuable asset to our community

When my family and I travel, we tend to notice the things we like in other communities as well as all the things we don’t appreciate as much -- mostly the traffic.

But we take special note of those things we think would be possible in McCook, which would help McCook thrive and grow, which would make McCook an even better place to call home. It can be as minimal as a dog park, which is a great asset for both residents and visitors alike.

Fortunately, the McCook K9 Korner Dog Park is planned for Barnett Park and will be in place soon. It could be restaurants which we think would add to the great eateries we already have. Or it could simply be the atmosphere created by outdoor dining and spaces where people gather to share food, friendship and ideas.

But one concept which we had seen over and over and which came of even greater importance during the pandemic when people were forced to work from home was the need for an alternate workspace or which is more commonly known as a cowork space.

Thanks to the effort of Andy Long of the McCook Economic Development Corp. and several generous sponsors, McCook has its own co-work space on the fourth floor of the Keystone Business Center in the heart of McCook. It is known as the McCook Cowork Space just to avoid any confusion.

So what exactly is a cowork space? Generally speaking, the definition of coworking is when people assemble in a neutral space to work independently on different projects, or in groups on the same projects. It’s different from a typical office workspace because the people in a coworking environment generally aren’t working for the same company. Coworking spaces offer the same amenities you would find in a traditional office, along with a lot more. A major differentiator is flexibility, since you don’t need to sign a long-term lease in a coworking space. But there are so many more reasons why McCook needed a cowork space from camaraderie to a place to escape to.

Those who are currently working on the fourth floor have already created a cohort among themselves. While they don’t work for the same company nor are they working on the same project, yet they find themselves leaning on each other for support, for insight, for simply social interaction.

As a McCook Chamber employee, my oldest son is housed on the fourth floor but is learning how to sew from Paula Sandberg, who works at a desk nearby. (While I taught him how to sew a button or whip stitch a hem, we never broke out a sewing machine.) The cowork space is also perfect for those who can work from anywhere so they make the choice to move from a larger community -- and all the headaches -- to a smaller community -- where life is hopefully a little more laid back. But a cowork space is not just limited to someone who needs an office for their business.

Anyone who has tried to work from home understands how distracting it can be. I have a home office but my attention can easily be diverted. There is a load of laundry waiting to be folded in the drier. There is a stack of bills pushed to the side of the desk that needs to be dealt with. Or maybe it’s that stack of VHS tapes that have been waiting to switch into a digital format for years but today seems like the best day to do it.