Stamford Daily Voice 10/21/15
By Jay Polansky
STAMFORD, Conn. — After attending a meeting at an office shared by people from different ventures in New York City, Jeffrey Kay of Greenwich had an idea.
“This would just be incredible in Stamford,” Kay, a network TV director, recalled in an interview with the Daily Voice in his new state-of-the-art co-working space at Shippan Point in Stamford on Tuesday.
His idea has become reality: Kay recently launched Workpoint, his 15,000-square-foot co-working space in a completely renovated waterfront space at 290 Harbor Drive.
Launched by Kay and his partner, Lea Ann Miller, a former Olympic figure skater turned event planner, Workpoint is a multifaceted workplace, event venue, and media facility with a variety of on-site amenities.
Its users can access high-speed wi-fi, conference rooms, a mail room and a shuttle to the nearby Stamford train station.
Kay said his office is geared to individuals who work from home or for startups.
The expansive office offers numerous opportunities to interact with co-workers. One gathering spot is in the large kitchen in the center of the space, which Kay called the “heartbeat” of the office.
“This is much more conducive to creative thinking,” he said on a tour of the space, comparing Workpoint with a rented office suite. “It’s about networking and collaboration as opposed to putting your self in a room and closing the door behind you.”
The office also allows companies to have flexible working arrangement. One client rents two dedicated desks, where two employees work throughout the week.
Once a week, all the company’s employees work out of the conference room. Each is available to clients at certain membership tiers on a space-available basis, Kay said.
Workpoint offers a variety of workspace options ranging from the cubicle to the communal. Members can use between traditional desks, shared tables or private offices.
Co-working spaces have been developing all over Fairfield County, including Stamford. But Kay’s idea has one unique feature: His space offers a television and photography studio with control room, post-production room and green room.
The studio should open by December. When production crews are not using the studio, it can become a special event space, Kay said.
In the future, Kay said his office has plenty of room to expand, should the demand arise.
“They sky is the limit as far as what we can do, ” he said.
Sign up for a tour of WORKPOINT