PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — The Business Innovation Center in downtown Presque Isle has seen hotel guests, business investors and even students from outside the community taking advantage of its coworking space.
Approximately 15 to 20 hotel guests a month work and conduct video conference calls via the Innovation Center’s Wi-Fi, which is separate from the hotel’s, according to LeRae Kinney, Ignite Presque Isle’s CEO. The space has had as many as five or six people working at the same time, though use fluctuates from day to day.
A coworking space isn’t a new concept in other parts of Maine or in other states, but it is for Aroostook County. Nonprofit Ignite Presque Isle acquired the Northeastland on May 17, 2021, and renovated the hotel, opened a restaurant and launched the coworking space to promote entrepreneurship in The County, where it’s difficult to attract businesses.
Presque Isle’s center is the only one of its kind north of Bangor. The Skowhegan Center for Entrepreneurship opened last April, and other business incubators are in the works. The Sunrise County Economic Council is developing the MaineStreet Business Building in Machias, and a year ago, Our Katahdin, a nonprofit aiming to spark revitalization in Millinocket, announced it planned to build a coworking and retail hub.
The center has gained seven memberships since its soft opening at the end of January.
Tracie Carolin Morand, a licensed practical nurse studying at Northern Maine Community College in Presque Isle, said that she and her husband stay at the Northeastland Hotel every other week when he comes up from Augusta, where they live.
“I do my homework on weekends and have full access to everything in the Innovation Center,” she said.
Morand, who was one of the first people to use the center, joined it after she started at the college in January. She will use the space as a study area until she graduates in September.
Morand has 24-hour access to the copy machine and Wi-Fi, whereas the library at Northern Maine Community College is open only until 6 p.m. and the Mark and Emily Turner Memorial Library in Presque Isle closes earlier.
“That’s the beauty of the coworking space is that it meets everybody’s needs. They are able to come and go as they please, and it’s available 24/7,” Kinney said.
Morand has seen three to four other people use the Business Innovation Center’s private rooms, but she and two other nursing students work on their studies together in the more public space.
The downtown location of the Innovation Center is convenient because of parking and available restaurants, such as Rodney’s on 436 Main in the hotel, but more importantly it’s close to the community college, Morand said.
Startup companies Adventures Tailor Made and Holland Consulting are among the seven members that use the Innovation Center for their workspaces. A member from MaineBiz used the space for a networking event in the conference center, and vendors for the Presque Isle Fish and Game Club’s Spring Sportsman’s Show hosted a banquet in March.
Both also drew interest to the hotel, Rodney’s and the Innovation Center while people networked with other professionals.
“One of the advantages of being part of a hotel is having that access,” LaRae said. “We don’t have to hire any additional staff to make sure [the Business Innovation Center] is open and available.”
There are six different tiered paid memberships for 24/7 access to the Business Innovation Center ranging from $99 to $499 per month. There’s also a $22.50 day pass for hotel guests to access the center from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Paid members can access the Innovation Center through keyless entry via smartphone. No data or information is collected on people who use the center.
Ignite PI is brainstorming ideas to expand the hotel’s conference center presence in the community, possibly in the areas of digital marketing or social media.
“It’s intended to be a place to get up and running and on your feet until you can have a brick and mortar somewhere,” Kinney said.
