Changes coming to co-working space in downtown Lancaster

More coffee and more space.

Those are two things that The Candy Factory, a co-working space in downtown Lancaster, needs.



Both are coming soon.



The Candy Factory intends to expand its co-working space starting this fall, and open a coffee shop, according to co-founder Anne Kirby.



Coffee. Coffee. Coffee.

The Candy Factory’s coffee shop, Perkup & Co. will likely open in late summer or early fall at 348 N. Queen St., Kirby said.



And it will be tiny.



The space will be an estimated 300 square feet, but it will be just big enough to serve fair trade coffee and preordered healthy lunches.



The goal of offering preordered food is to reduce the waste that comes from buying inventory that doesn’t sell, Kirby said.



There are several reasons to open a coffee shop near the co-working space, the first being that The Candy Factory members drink a lot of coffee.

The average member also heads out to eat three to four times a week, according to Kirby.



Opening a space that will serve fair trade coffee and preordered lunches and that donates a share of its sales to projects in Lancaster that are focused on helping children, made sense.



Six floors of co-working

The Candy Factory, located at 342 N. Queen St., occupies the first two floors of a six-story tower, the Lancaster Storage Building.



This September, construction is expected to start on the remaining four floors.



Each floor is an estimated 2,000 square feet, according to Kirby, and The Candy Factory is designing its expansion plans in-house.



Imagine showers, phone booths and a meditation room. That is what Kirby is talking for the third floor.



The idea for showers came into play because some members ride their bikes or do Yoga during the day.



There will also be a soundproof room dedicated to recording video and audio for podcasts.



The fourth and fifth floors will offer additional work space.



The fifth-floor space will be dedicated to people handling confidential information related to their businesses. They will have more space and more privacy. Although the floor plan will remain open, it will house 10 to 12 co-workers instead of the usual 15 to 17.



The sixth floor will be a lounge space or common area, and it will serve as an area for member events or meet-ups hosted by The Candy Factory.



There might even be a rooftop deck in the future, Kirby said.



The expansion project is expected to be complete by January 2017. By the end of that year, Kirby hopes The Candy Factory will have 280 members, up from 95 now.

