There’s a new co-working space in Delta located on the backside of the Delta Library located at 124 East 6th Street. Delta City Manager Elyse Casselberry explains the backstory to the creation of the new Delta Library and the subsequent build out of the co-working and maker space.
“So, this really goes back to conversations about the library, creating a new library space which really started back in 2019,” said Cassleberry. “And at the same time the county was beginning conversations about modifications that they wanted to make and expansion at the jail. Those two conversations came together. The solution for the county was to probably take over the old Carnegie and a solution for the library was a space that would be more cost effective for them to operate.”
Cassleberry says the city joined in and began working together on the library project.
“ There’s a community room, there’s a co-working space which is really here to support existing businesses, remote workforce, start up businesses. It creates an office environment for folks who may otherwise wouldn’t have an office environment. It creates shared resources and cost effectiveness for small business that need a little bit of workspace,” said Casselberry
The brightly lit space, which once served as the warehouse for the old City Market, will also house the Delta Chamber of Commerce. Access to the co-working space is available on a daily basis or a membership fee.
“You can come in and sit at any open space or if you’re really someone who wants to use the space and have your space, you can also have dedicated desk membership where your desk is your desk and nobody else can use it. We also have three private offices that are available as well,” Casselberry said.
Information on the new Delta co-working space can be found at: https://www.deltainnovationworkspace.org/
In addition to the co-working space, Casselberry says the new maker is moving forward with big plans to have several individual ‘pods’ including woodworking, metal fabrication, electronics, a technology room, a media room and eventually an industrial sewing space.
While most of the pods are fully equipped, Casselberry says the library will be hosting a fundraiser for the woodworking, metal fabrication and industrial sewing space.
“ So, we’re going to do a ‘ tool raiser’ on February 3rd which is a Saturday from 10 am until 2 pm with the hope of really engaging our community and introducing them to this space and encouraging folks to consider donating so that we can get those other spaces up and going. We have a wish list of tools that we’d like to be able to acquire.”
The ‘tool raiser’ on February 3rd will also include demonstrations and tours of the maker space. The makerspace will also be membership driven, however, Casselberry says there will also be some free access to the space through the Delta library.
“Another, I think, exciting opportunity for the community is the library will be developing programming within the maker space so that the community can access it for free through the programming that they will offer,” said the city manager.
Casselberry says the city will also provide business support for innovative maker space startups using collaborative partnerships with Region 10, Small Business Development Center and Loan Fund, Technical College of the Rockies, Workforce Development Center, One Delta, and Library Resources.
The complete interview with Delta City Manager Elyse Casselberry is in the audio below.
