Don’t let the kegerator fool you.
The new UberOffices in downtown Bethesda has all the hallmarks of an office sharing space seeking the young and the hip — including the kitchen counter beer tap.
But Montgomery County officials and the property owner rebranding the former the Air Rights Center are betting UberOffices does more than bring some younger faces to Montgomery County.
The nearly 20,000-square-foot space with 50 offices on the fourth floor of MRP Realty’s Bethesda Crossing building opened last week.
There are 12 tenants signed on. Mobile System 7 — one of the office share’s first tenants — got $100,000 of funding from Montgomery County’s Economic Development Fund to relocate from Virginia to its new, 10-seat corner office at 7315 Wisconsin Ave.
It’s the first UberOffices location in Maryland, one that has drawn interest from about 35 small companies looking for offices, conference room space and the vibe that has driven UberOffices in Arlington, Tysons and Dupont Circle.
Each of those spaces has a predominant type of company, said Jaimie Shapiro, who’s helping to welcome companies in to their new digs in Bethesda.
Tysons has more government contractors, Dupont has more nonprofits and Arlington swings more to the tech side. So far Bethesda has a mix of company types.
Industree is a hospitality trade group that puts on speaker events to help area restaurants owners and would-be restaurant owners. Mobile System 7 is a nine-employee cybersecurity firm with government and corporate clients.
It’s also one of Montgomery County’s first investments in its new mission to become a cybersecurity hub.
What companies get — besides office space or single desks that can be rented out for around $300 a month — is the communal feeling that comes among other startups.
The kitchen and lounge also features a foosball table and Xbox. There’s the “bullpen,” another common area that can be reserved independent of the office spaces.
UberOffices is promoting its new location with a lunch party, social mixer and networking event on Thursday.
