MERGE Iowa City hosts ribbon cutting for renovated coworking space

The downtown Iowa City coworking space MERGE held its grand reopening yesterday evening, drawing a crowd of Greater Iowa City ambassadors, Mayor Bruce Teague, and an energized Herky the Hawk to celebrate.  MERGE, located at 36 S. Dubuque St. and accessible from the Ped Mall, acts as a workspace for community members and as the […]

The downtown Iowa City coworking space MERGE held its grand reopening yesterday evening, drawing a crowd of Greater Iowa City ambassadors, Mayor Bruce Teague, and an energized Herky the Hawk to celebrate.  MERGE, located at 36 S. Dubuque St. and accessible from the Ped Mall, acts as a workspace for community members and as the headquarters for Greater Iowa City. The last few months saw the two-floor venue — originally opened in 2017 — undergo sleek interior renovations and updates to its programming.  Nancy Bird, the president and CEO of Greater Iowa City, welcomed attendees to the ceremony and thanked those who helped make the renovations possible. This included Neumann Monson Architects, McComas-Lacina Construction, and Paragon Interiors.

“Downtown has always been a very special place, and this history is rooted in innovation and entrepreneurial spirit and many, many partnerships,” Ms. Bird said before the ribbon-cutting. “We've had a very, very big year, and we wanted the headquarters of our new organization at Greater Iowa City, Inc., to reflect the change in a very tangible way.” One of the core changes to MERGE is the new Business Resource Center, intended to be a comprehensive option for burgeoning entrepreneurs and established businesspeople alike. Additionally, the venue has a more accessible, open-floor lobby space, new furnishings, and a new front desk at the entrance.  MERGE as a whole offers open workspace benches, rentable offices and conference rooms, a large training room, as well as free ImOn Wi-Fi and coffee for attendees. Ms. Bird noted the new “Zoom Booths” located at the back of the conference rooms, meant for people to co-work with those working from home. The booths themselves are made out of local wood from urban ash trees that were felled due to ash borer disease.  The MERGE space also houses several University of Iowa programs, including Protostudios, UI Ventures, and events through the John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center. Ms. Bird said they will soon see new 3D-printed signage from Protostudios, as well as some mural artwork inside MERGE. 

“We also want those who work in the space already — there's a number of offices with emerging businesses within them, and people who co-work here every single day — we want them to feel like this is a space that they can navigate well, and mingle with others that are in it,” Ms. Bird said. “At the end of the day, we want everyone that enters the space to feel like they're part of something bigger, and they're part of the family.” Another change to MERGE is the hiring of Connor Gast, its new co-working facilities manager, who also spoke before the ribbon-cutting.  “This is really a space to welcome all. We know how integral it is for a space to be like this, especially in downtown Iowa City,” Mr. Gast said. “We're very fortunate to have it here.” MERGE and Greater Iowa City also operate CoWork @ 808 in Coralville, and work with the North Liberty CoLab. Another local business hub undergoing renovations is Dream City, which serves the south side of Iowa City. Dream City hosted its groundbreaking ceremony last Friday.