Word on the Street: New ‘Workspace’ coming to Pacific Southwest Building

The concept of collabortive workspaces for freelancers and entrepreneurs is catching on in Fresno. Hashtag Fresno, which next month is moving to downtown Fresno from its origins in the Tower District, was among the leaders of the idea when it opened four years ago.

Now Sevak Khatchadourian, owner of the iconic Pacific Southwest Building on the Fulton Mall downtown, is renovating two of building’s 16 floors into something he calls Workspace, “a working space for creators, collaborators and dreamers … to spawn innovation by bringing together creative minds from different industry types to work and share ideas.”

Khatchadourian bought the former Security Bank building at 1060 Fulton Mall in 2011 with a promise to transform the edifice, which opened in 1925, by continuing to develop residential lofts on the upper floors and renovate lower floors for business tenants. The new Workspace, which will have a soft opening on Thursday, represents a new take on those commercial plans.

“The creative work concept is becoming very popular in large metropolitan cities,” Khatchadourian said. “I honestly think (Workspace) is going to be the best creative and inspiring office environment in Fresno.”

Workspace will occupy the third and fourth floors of the building with a largely open floor plan. It will represent a combination of old and new decor, featuring exposed brick exterior walls and concrete floors and ceilings, along with modern furnishings, glass-enclosed private offices and white writing walls. There will be more than 50 work stations, 10 private offices, a conference room, a kitchen and a seating area with entertainment, Khatchadourian said. Other amenities include coffee, water and, occasionally, craft beer. Members and tenants of Workspace will also have access to The Vault, the downstairs portion of the building equipped as a recreation space with a tables for pool, ping pong, air hockey and foosball as well as a professional screening room with reclining leather seating.

Khatchadourian said there will be different pricing packages for the space, from office leases to monthly or day-pass memberships.

This story was originally published September 25, 2015 at 3:35 PM with the headline "Word on the Street: New ‘Workspace’ coming to Pacific Southwest Building."