The Spur, the East End’s first members-only, coworking space and innovation community, has just announced its expansion with a new location in East Hampton. Since May 2018, the Spur has been operating from an historic, converted 1880s feed and seed barn by the Southampton train station.

“Over the past year we have seen a steady growth in our membership base from both year-round entrepreneurs based on the East End as well as from innovators who are NYC based residents but spend time in The Hamptons”, says Spur Founder & CEO, Ashley John Heather (above, left). “In our first year we’ve already had over 150 members join The Spur and we continue to see pent up demand from those living further East.  Because of this, we quickly determined that our next business priority should better accommodate that market demand before we expanded in other areas.

The Spur’s East Hampton location will be operating out of the space currently known as The 324 at 44 Three Mile Harbor Road, East Hampton. “I’ve been an East Hampton business owner for over 20 years as well as a homeowner on the east end since 1993. During this time, but especially so in the last 10 years, I’ve seen a remarkable transformation occur in the Hamptons with the increase in year-round business people.” says Frank Cilione an owner and operator of the East Hampton property. “What makes The Spur and their expansion plans truly exciting, is that rather than the de-facto ‘lets meet at Starbucks’ to discuss ideas and business, people finally now have a venue that is specifically designed and geared especially for them.”

“Spur East” as it will be known will open in early Spring 2019 after some upgrades to the current property.  The main lounge will be able to support an additional 100+ members, and offer a range of added value business, wellness and entertainment services. The new location will have a full bar, breakfast, lunch and catering services, and a large event space to support education lectures, corporate retreats, private events, live entertainment and even a ping pong club!

This new location makes it easier for members living from Sag Harbor to Montauk to access the co-working space and attend the programming events.  The Spur’s expansion formula is to have a Spur location within a 15-20 minute drive of every entrepreneurial and ideas minded person who lives or regular visits the East End.

“The Spur is not just a physical space. It’s an active community of business leaders and next generation entrepreneurs looking to build their future from a base on the East End” says Spur Chairman Bruce Bockmann. “Resort towns need re-inventing as the internet continues to disrupt main streets across America. We need new innovative businesses to help support the local economy and keep talented skilled workers in the area.”

The Spur was recently awarded a $500,000 business development grant from the Long Island Regional Development Council’s 2018 Strategic plan. The goal of LIREDC recommendations is to advance Long Island growth of knowledge-based jobs and the overall economy.  The Spur’s grant was the largest award given to a for-profit business on the East End.

East End residents and NYC based entrepreneurs who spend some, or all of their time on the East End, are encouraged to apply for membership at https://www.thespur.com/join-the-spur.