Saunas and Ice Baths: A New Coworking Office Focusing on Wellness Opens in Old Town

James Cullum August 20, 2020 at 2:15pm

The Loop coworking space at 215 N. Payne Street in Old Town offers the amenities you expect out of such an office, and some you won’t expect. (Courtesy photo)

A sauna at The Loop coworking space at 215 N. Payne Street in Old Town. (Courtesy photo)

Tubs for ice baths at The Loop coworking space at 215 N. Payne Street in Old Town. (Courtesy photo)

The Loop coworking space at 215 N. Payne Street in Old Town. (Courtesy photo)

The gym at The Loop coworking space at 215 N. Payne Street in Old Town. (Courtesy photo)

The Loop coworking space at 215 N. Payne Street in Old Town. (Courtesy photo)

Need a quick sweat in the office sauna before an upcoming meeting? How about an ice bath? For folks tired of working from home, a new coworking office just opened in Old Town with amenities focused on wellness.

Real estate developer Christopher Campagna was ready to open The Loop at 215 N. Payne Street back in March, but then the pandemic struck and it pushed back his plans. He was all set for a virtual opening when George Floyd was killed and the city experienced a period of social unrest, and so he pushed the opening to late summer.

“Leasing office space? That business is broken,” Campagna told ALXnow. “This COVID reset has given fuel to the fire to the idea that people can work away from their standard office, and what we offer is a safe solution that will unleash the potential in your employees.”

Campagna opened his first coworking space, 1010 Loft (now renamed to The Loop), at 1010 North Fairfax Street in 2016, and later cofounded the ALX Community space at Founder’s Hall.

He hired 25N to manage the new property, and its CEO Mara Hauser and her team have prepared COVID reentry plans for employers who want to get their employees out of the house.

“Our site and community manager patrol around the space with a bottle of sanitizing spray,” he said. “Every time somebody gets up a communal space they go over and spray. It’s tricky. We’ve got a gym that takes a lot of sanitization, and we’re limiting the number of people that can be in there at any one time together. We’ve cut back on the number of personal trainers, too.”

The Loop also offers student and family packages starting at $25 per day and going up to $199 for a monthy pass, which gains members access to the kitchen with free coffee and tea, flexible working spaces, the gym, showers and lockers.

“I want people to be in a place where they can’t wait to get to work in the morning,” Campagna said.

In case you missed it, The Loop is also hosting the launch of Black Is Beautiful beer on August 28.

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Courtesy photos