Cowles Co. subsidiaries hope to turn two negatives into a positive in the heart of downtown Spokane. 

When Muv Fitness closed its downtown Spokane fitness center two years ago, it left 20,000 square feet of vacant office space in the Cowles Real Estate-owned, former Burlington Coat Factory building at 809 W. Main, across Main Avenue from River Park Square. Then, 15 months later, Cowles Ventures LLC ended up with a surplus of office furniture and equipment when a once-burgeoning startup in which it had invested closed its doors for good. 

Now, the big space and hodgepodge of goods are being combined to form Fuel, a new coworking space targeting high-growth startups and anchor tenants.

The new venture is set to open in downtown Spokane in the first quarter of 2025, says Skye Henderson, vice president of venture investments at Cowles Ventures.

“We have our own portfolio companies that we would love to provide a space,” Henderson says. 

Cowles Ventures, the venture capital investment arm of Cowles Co., is spearheading the development, that seeks to fill a void in Spokane’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. Cowles Co. also owns the Journal of Business through a separate subsidiary. 

Spokane’s coworking market is missing a facility that caters to startup ventures specifically, asserts Henderson.

“We’re not going to technically be an incubator, but we want to provide a space for companies to come and know there’s other founders and people with the same energy and ideas that they can work together and collaborate,” says Henderson. 

Fuel also aims to attract anchor tenants to set up offices at the coworking center. Anchor tenants are considered to be later-stage companies that have five to 10 employees and could use dedicated offices instead of temporary workspaces, he explains.

“We’re talking with a few of those portfolio companies to try to come in and … also service providers,” says Henderson, adding that law firms, accounting firms, and banking services would be ideal anchor tenants at the facility.

“That would help make it all pencil,” he says. 

Fuel will operate within 20,000 square feet of repurposed gym space. All gym furnishings have been cleared from the floor, but developers have received feedback from potential tenants who want the company to bring some exercise equipment back into the space.

Blake Gibson, associate at Cowles Ventures, says the current plan is to keep the gym’s sauna and steam room closed but intact and revamp it for use as another amenity at the coworking site in the future.

“Everyone said that would be really cool,” Henderson says. “We’re not going to do that today, but kind of like a startup, we’ll start here and then as it proves its concept, we’ll have this vision of what it can be in like three years.”

Fuel’s interior will have an urban industrial design, they say.

The Spokane office of Tacoma, Washington-based design services company BCRA Inc. is designing the Fuel coworking center.

The project will advance in two phases so development plans can be adapted to what works best for tenants in the space and to help curb costs, Henderson says. 

Henderson and Gibson decline to disclose the name of the now-defunct company from which the goods that will furnish Fuel originated.

Interior design plans call for a mix of temporary desks, dedicated desks, and private offices, as well as a couple of conference rooms, an open area for gatherings and events, private rooms to take calls, and some communal and storage areas.

For the time being, the reception area will remain in place at the entrance to Fuel, where a hospitality and coffee bar are planned for tenants.

Some office furniture already has been set up inside the coworking space. Two rows of desks and computer equipment occupy an area where treadmills previously were located. A conference room has been furnished, along with a lounge area with two sectional couches and tables, and a long gathering table with seating. Other office spaces are still being furnished.

After all of the office equipment is moved in, the next steps will be to deep clean and repaint the interior. 

Permits haven’t been required for any of the ongoing tenant improvements.

Eventually, more private offices will be added to the coworking center, which likely will require permit approval, says Sarah Henderson, owner of Liberty Lake-based Elevate Consulting, which is the project manager for Fuel.

“We’ve been doing our best bootstrapping this coworking space,” Skye Henderson says.

Fuel will accommodate about 150 people at first. The second phase of development will increase capacity to 350, Sarah Henderson says.

“I think that’s a good target to start in this hybrid workforce,” Skye Henderson says. “I’m not expecting everyone to be here every single day, but … on average, two to four days a week would be perfect.”

The location of the coworking center in downtown Spokane offers several benefits for startups including proximity to restaurants and shops, a secured entrance, an enhanced security presence provided by Cowles Co., and access to covered parking at the River Park Square parking garage, Skye Henderson says.

“Parking is an issue downtown, but if you want to have covered safe parking, it’s hard to beat the garage,” he says.

Developers also are seeking partnerships with organizations to host events at Fuel. Such groups might include startup accelerator Ignite Northwest and tech-networking-event organizer LaunchPad Inland Northwest LLC.

“I’m trying to get them to do some of their lunch-and-learns here … so then we can just provide the space and have a landing spot for everyone,” Skye Henderson says.

The new coworking space has the potential to become a catalyst for growth and innovation as a central hub for entrepreneurs. Interested tenants are encouraged to contact Henderson and Gibson at Cowles Ventures, they say.

“A lot of people are looking for something like this, that is more structured and more tailored toward startups,” Gibson contends. “It’s not something that exists in Spokane yet.”