Fairfield Business Owner Repurposes General Store as Coworking Space

Source: VTDigger

Christa Driscoll knows her way around every inch of this centuries-old brick building in the heart of Fairfield’s village center — both on the inside and out.

“There’s so much history here,” she said on a recent morning, stopping to point out the carvings that dot the walls, the trapdoor that once brought in goods for sale.

The Brick Store, as it’s known in town, was sitting vacant when Driscoll decided to buy it six years ago. Since then, she’s chipped away at a nearly complete retrofit of the 1830 structure, aiming to create what is likely the first coworking space in Franklin County.

“There isn’t a lot for a local professional in a rural area like this,” said Driscoll, who grew up in nearby Fairfax and runs a small stationery business. She wants the coworking space to help people meet each other when they might otherwise work from home.

The workspaces Driscoll has built are spread across two of the building’s three levels. The top floor — framed by huge, wooden beams — has five individual desks that can each be rented out for $75 a week. The top level also has a small common lounge. 

Three people have signed up to rent a desk there so far, she said. 

The building’s bottom level — built into a small hill — is set up as an “open coworking” space, Driscoll said. This floor has seats for about a dozen people spread across some individual tables and some shared ones, along with a kitchen around the corner.

Driscoll said she’s considering charging $25 for a day’s access to the shared space, and $39 for a week. She has set up several tables outside where people can work, too.

The building’s main level, meanwhile, is a base for Driscoll’s stationery work, and she wants to host events there. It also has several displays detailing the building’s history.

Read the full VTDigger article