A local real estate agent has a plan that may attract more entrepreneurs to Shockoe Bottom.

Faye Hager is launching a new co-working space in the long-vacant two-story building at 19 N. 17th St. near the 17th Street Farmer’s Market.

She’ll call it the Butcher Meeting Place – the property was once home to a butcher shop – and plans to put in five or six desks on the first floor that will rent for $200 to $300 a month.

Hager said she hopes to attract young entrepreneurs who don’t keep a traditional office to the space.

“I think there is a great need for this office space,” Hager said. “People don’t want big offices and they don’t want to be in a cubicle.”

Hager bought the 90-year-old building on Jan. 12 for $115,000. She expects it to cost $150,000 to renovate the property to create the 1,600-square foot co-working space and a 1,200 square-foot apartment on the second floor.

The office space is also planned to have a large conference room, small kitchen area and two bathrooms with showers.

Hager said she plans to apply for federal and state historic tax credits for the project. William Bullifant of Renew Homes is doing both the contracting and the design work for space.

The rise of other local co-working concepts, such as Gather nearby at 409 E. Main St., inspired Hager’s idea. She said she’s encouraged by the number of apartments in Shockoe Bottom and the growing restaurant scene in Church Hill.

“This being in Shockoe Bottom will just add to the mix,” Hager said. “And if the baseball diamond happens to come, then it’s going to be there.”

An agent with Virginia Real Estate and Development, Hager is no stranger to downtown real estate. She was the agent that sold the nearby Weiman’s Bakery property to developer Louis Salomonsky for $1.9 million in the thick of the baseball stadium debate.

Hager is also the founder of Richmond International Hostel, which is currently under construction at 7 N. 2nd St. and set to open in July.

Renovations on her new building are set to begin this month. Hager said she hopes the downstairs will be completed in four months and the apartment is planned to be done two months later. She said the apartment would probably rent for about $1,600 a month.