With Silicon Valley a time-consuming and treacherous commute away and companies looking to trim costs, some local folks have found themselves working outside of the traditional office scenario via the Internet.
For Scotts Valley residents who need office space rather than coffee shop wireless, Satellite Telework Centers’ new space behind the Scotts Valley Market is set to open its doors with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Dec. 8.
Satellite Telework Centers offers access to high-speed Internet, a virtual office setup, phone connections, conference rooms, a break room and an office kitchen — essentially, a professional-style work environment closer to home.
“The impetus behind (Satellite Telework Center) was to try and reduce carbon dioxide emissions caused by commuting and to create walkable communities,” said CEO Barbara Sprenger. “We see this as the workplace of the future.”
When the inaugural Satellite Telework Center opened its doors in Felton in May 2009, it was planned as a way to recreate the feeling of working alongside other professionals in a work environment while simultaneously reducing the need to leave the local community.
An eclectic mix of telecommuters, community groups, freelancers, entrepreneurs and small-business owners make up the clientele of the Felton center, Sprenger said.
The decision to open a Scotts Valley center was partially spurred by the number of people who approached Sprenger and her co-founders, Ken Meshke and Jim Graham, about the possibility of a second space.
“We had an awful lot of people say, ‘I just wish you were in Scotts Valley, too,’” Sprenger said.
The two-story Scotts Valley facility, Sprenger said, is a partnership between the co-founders and the building’s owners, Harvey Glasser and Ow Properties. In keeping with the green theme, almost all of the cubicles and office furniture were obtained secondhand from the old Wrigley facility in Santa Cruz.
Depending on people’s needs, the Scotts Valley center offers work environments ranging from a café-style community room, to office cubicles, to private offices for rent, and even a corporate boardroom. For the present, teleconferencing will be offered solely at the Felton center.
The new facility also has a unique billing system that is under consideration for a patent. Members are issued card keys that hold all their membership information. Those who enroll for limited access during business hours may still enter and exit the building at other times, with any use beyond what they’ve paid for added to their monthly fees.
Members can also opt for an unlimited plan, which allows access to the center on an around-the-clock basis.
Dave Davies, an architect with Houston-based BMC Software, has been a regular at the Felton center since it opened.
“I’ve got an office in San Jose — that’s quite a drive over the hill,” Davies said. “I lose two hours commuting every time I go.”
Davies said he prefers to work from Satellite Telework Center in downtown Felton instead of his Zayante home because of the lack of distractions, the faster Internet connection and its ease of access.
“I work with people from different time zones all over the world, and if I need to come in at 5 in the morning for a call, I can,” Davies said. “I’ve got a key and everything is automated, so they don’t always need someone here.”
Sprenger said that though plans for a third center in the former offices of the Santa Cruz Sentinel newspaper in downtown Santa Cruz have been scrapped, she and her partners are moving forward with plans to open in Truckee, with help from the Sierra city’s local economic development agency.
“Property owners, economic development agencies — they all want to provide space for workers in their town,” Sprenger said.
Time will tell if Scotts Valley, traditionally a commuter town for Silicon Valley, will grasp the idea, as Davies has done.
“I only have to go to the office in San Jose once or twice a month now,” Davies said. “I thank heavens I don’t have to do that every day now.”
AT A GLANCE
What: Satellite open house
When: 4 p.m. Dec. 9
Where: 5900 Butler Lane, Ste. 130, in Scotts Valley
Info: www.thesatelliteinc.com
