Downtown Alliance’s Hive at 55 Wins International Downtown Association’s 2010 Merit Award

The International Downtown Association (IDA) has presented the Alliance for Downtown New York with a Downtown Merit Award for the Hive at 55 coworking facility.

Launched in December 2009 as part of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s MediaNYC 2020 plan, the Hive provides shared workspace and support to freelancers, consultants, small businesses and entrepreneurs—from iPhone app makers to journalists to online film companies. The fully outfitted, 4,000-square-foot space is located in Lower Manhattan at 55 Broad Street, Rudin Management’s New York Information and Technology Center.

“The Hive is a place where creative thinkers can work by themselves, together,” said Elizabeth H. Berger, President of the Alliance for Downtown New York. “The Hive is about job growth and new ways of working and is one more example of how Lower Manhattan has been innovating for 400 years. In 10 months, the Hive has brought more than 2,800 people together for its classes, seminars, meetups and shared workspace. Thanks to the IDA for recognizing the Hive’s impact as a new kind of professional community in Lower Manhattan.”

The New York City Economic Development Corporation provided a $100,000 grant to the Downtown Alliance for the Hive. Additional funding and program support for the Hive are provided by 55 Broad Street, the Rudin family, Poulakakos Family Restaurants (which offer Hive members monthly lunches and happy hours), J&R Music and Computer World (which offer discounts for Hive members), Mancini Duffy, Pace University and Sky-Packets. More information on the Hive at 55 is available by calling the Downtown Alliance at 212-835-2744, on the Web at http://www.hiveat55.com or by e-mail at [email protected]. Interested parties may also follow the Hive on Twitter at www.twitter.com/hiveat55 or become fans on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/hiveat55.

Beginning with a handful of users, the Hive at 55 now typically operates at more than 70 percent capacity. The facility includes workspace for more than 40 people at a time, in open seating and three private workrooms. Amenities include Wi-Fi, fax, printer and copy machines, conference rooms and bicycle storage. Conference rooms are used for workshops, classes, seminars, business meetings and other meetups. The space has now hosted nearly 100 events, many in partnership with Pace University, Girls in Tech, GuruLoft and other tech and social media groups. Seminars have included social media tips from world-renowned social media expert Sree Sreenivasan of Columbia University and classes on building location-based smartphone apps.

Based in Washington, D.C., the IDA is a champion for vital and livable urban centers and strives to inform, influence, and inspire downtown leaders and advocates. With more than 600 members, the organization is a guiding force in creating healthy and dynamic city centers that anchor the well-being of towns, cities and regions.

The IDA presented the award at its annual conference last week in Fort Worth, TX. Winners included organizations that work to further their city centers in one or more of the following ways:

 Creating successful programs and strategies to recruit new businesses or to improve retention efforts in downtowns
 Recruiting new sectors to the downtown economy
 Creating successful brick-and-mortar projects that have created or enhanced economic development efforts through creative financing, unique operating strategies, or public-private partnerships.