White Fence Living
"White Fence Living: Real stories from New Albany, Ohio, hosted by a local dad, youth sports coach and community member. From community leaders to everyday voices, we share what makes 43054 tick—with a history sprinkle, no politics. Uncurated chats over the white fences."
White Fence Living
From Bridge Park to New Albany: How BrickHouse Blue is Redefining Workspace Culture
Ever wondered what happens when productivity meets playfulness? In our exploration of New Albany's newest workspace innovation, Community Manager Nia takes us inside BrickHouse Blue's Water's Edge location - a coworking concept where business professionals can transition from hosting clients in elegant meeting rooms to unwinding with zombie dodgeball in their sports simulator.
Founded in 2019 and now expanded to four distinctive locations, BrickHouse Blue has evolved from its Bridge Park origins to create an elevated experience specifically designed for the New Albany community. The Water's Edge name perfectly captures the workspace's integration with its natural surroundings, positioned alongside a scenic pond that creates a tranquil backdrop for productivity and collaboration.
What stands out in our conversation is the thoughtful variety of spaces available to members - from the cozy, snack-filled Bluebird room perfect for informal meetings to the Newport space featuring that unexpected sports simulator where kickball breaks can refresh your creative thinking. This isn't your typical office environment; it's a carefully crafted ecosystem where work and wellbeing coexist. With flexible membership options ranging from private offices to daily coworking passes, BrickHouse Blue has created a welcoming hub for entrepreneurs, remote workers, and established businesses alike.
Perhaps most compelling is how BrickHouse Blue embodies what makes New Albany special. As Nia so eloquently puts it: "The community here is unlike no other. Once you're in, you're fully invested in and you can invest in other people as well." It's this spirit of mutual support and presence that infuses everything at Water's Edge - from the shopping adventures that created its distinctive interior to the daily interactions that make it more than just a place to work. Subscribe now to hear more stories about the businesses and innovations making New Albany such a vibrant community.
What I love about New Albany is the 4th of July parade Sports.
Speaker 2:Starbucks my other home. Very supportive to my business and I think businesses in the area kind of all look out for each other. Everything. Welcome to White Fence Living Podcast. Inspired by the white fences that are all throughout our community fences that are all throughout our community this podcast is about the people, the places and the stories that make New Albany so special. All right, I think we're ready.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'm ready.
Speaker 2:Awesome, nia. Well, thanks for doing this. We're super excited. So for the guest, we have Nia here who is in charge of BrickHouse Blue and filling its space. We also have Ava, who's going to help us out with some of the technical side of things audio, video, whatever help. We need Some moral advice, usually, nia. So tell me about BrickHouse Blue, you know, just give me your elevator speech.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'll go ahead. Hey guys, my name is Nia. I'm the community manager at our Water's Edge location. So we have four locations. We have two in Bridge Park, plain City and then newly this one, water's Edge. I'm newer to Brickhouse Blue, so I started last September but have been engulfed in newer to Brickhouse Blue, so I started last September but have been engulfed in all things Brickhouse Blue Founded and started in 2019. Our first original locations are those two Bridge Park locations. So if you have time, check those out. Those are the original and you can kind of see the progress from Plain City to now New Albany, which has elevated amenities. From Plain City to now New Albany, which has elevated amenities, features, all of those things. We're all about community collaboration and productivity, so a new space for productivity and co-working.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so Water's Edge. When I first came here I was like Water's Edge, when is there Water's Edge in New Albany? So tell me, why Water's Edge?
Speaker 1:So we went with Water's Edge because we're right along that beautiful pond, If you come into our space. I think the whole idea is to get people into our space to see the water, to be in that meeting space, to be in the event space and also utilize that co-working space Just a home away from home. That's the essential thing, idea of Water's Edge.
Speaker 2:Yeah, when I went back there I was like, oh well, this makes sense, it is. It's an awesome zine. It's really cool. You were telling us about your favorite room, so tell me what your favorite room is.
Speaker 1:I got a couple. So the first one I'm going to highlight is the Bluebird. That's one of our meeting and event space. It's a smaller, informal, comfortable meeting space. You can also co-work out of that space too. We have snacks in there. It's very chill. If you want a home away from home, that is the perfect spot. Don't get too caught up in there, because if you keep going down there's a sports simulator in Newport which is our combinable space, my favorite space by far. It's right along that water kind of, so you can kind of see a little peek of the water. But it's also like sports bar style. I love to play kickball in the sports simulator and then work in the Newport on my laptop, so it's the best of both worlds and some zombie dodgeball right, Some zombie dodgeball we haven't gotten to that yet.
Speaker 1:I think that's going to get a little intense. I might need to wear a tank that day.
Speaker 2:That's awesome. So if somebody's interested in office space, just tell me a little bit about what the different options are. What does that look like? Can I just come in and just use any of the spaces? What does that look like?
Speaker 1:So we have a couple different levels to that. For our offices we do have a specialist, our private sales manager, kate. She sells all of our offices at all of the locations. She's a beast. So the immediate contact would be her. But if you do come on site, we will always show you what's available, whether it's at Bridge Park, here or Plain City, the community managers there will show you what's available on site.
Speaker 1:We have desk available, which I love to say, is just basically an office without the four walls around you. You get the same kind of amenities, same kind of perks and you can still use that open co-working space. So we see a lot of desk tenants and office tenants utilize the co-working space more for collaboration purposes. And then we have some walk-in members, some co-working members, and those are either daily memberships or, you know, commitments on the three-month side and they utilize all of our open areas as well as those huddle rooms, the podcast studio, the sports simulator, and they can use those meeting and events spaces for open co-working. But then they're. That opens up that second level with meetings and events. So we do have some non-members in here and those people can utilize all of the space as well as our members do, and those are just fun events. Whether it's more formal meetings or informal social gatherings, they can utilize the whole space and all of the amenities.
Speaker 2:Nice. I just find myself walking around looking for places to take a nap, so I'm here for the naps and the snacks. There's a mother's room that I wouldn't use but would be great. No, it's a really cool space. I think it's awesome. I'm excited to utilize it. I'm obviously super excited about this space. So we have a guest to tease, which I think it's fitting that we're using Brickhouse's Blue podcast studio. I think it's fitting that maybe one of our first guests is somebody from Brickhouse Blue, outside of yourself. So tell us who that is and maybe give us a teaser on what we can expect.
Speaker 1:So Dave is our chief ideation officer. He was one of the co-founders of Brickhouse Blue. I thought he would be the perfect first guest, as he is all things engulfed in BHB. He kind of bounces from location to location so he knows the best of everything. He's pretty much the go-to person for all public speaking, all things Brick House Blue and promoting. He's just a lively, just energetic, fun boss to have. So I think you guys are going to have a joy with him.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we're looking forward to it. So tell me, I need some stories on Brickhouse Blue to this point. Anything fun, exciting, funny, maybe something crazy. Give me some scoop on something interesting at Brickhouse Blue. So it's been open for how long?
Speaker 1:Since 2019, but I didn't start until September, so I feel like I'm a little late to the crazy stories. But I mean I can tell you I started right when the structure of Water's Edge started coming together, so I didn't see the whole empty place. So I can tell you some of the crazy stories we have is just those beginning phases of watching the dust come in, watching the structures actually form, and you're like wait, this is a space and going shopping. So Riley and I I are meetings and events manager we did our big one with the big shopping trips to Easton.
Speaker 1:So um, and that was like weeks on, weeks of shopping decor. Um, and let me set the scene for you there's nothing in the space, there's no, there's just. It's just blue and gray. So we're going off of what. Usually what's our vibe at brick house? Blue, but elevated because we're in new albany now. So we're trying to picture ourselves on the water's edge, not too beachy themed, but not too. You know, we're in new albany, we're, we're elevated here. Yeah, so just the whole shopping trip was insane watching riley and I, two 25 year old girls under the height of five, five, carrying huge bags of just decor. That is a funny sight to imagine.
Speaker 2:If you missed your calling there, yeah why wasn't I invited?
Speaker 1:We would have loved you. You'd have spent a lot more money. I promise oh, 100%.
Speaker 2:Awesome. Well, I think that's really it. I appreciate your time. I do want to finish. I'm going to finish every episode with just something that you love about being in New Albany, working in New Albany, just being a part of the New Albany community, and it could be one word, it could be a phrase, just something you love about this place.
Speaker 1:The community. The community here is unlike no other. Once you're in, you're fully invested in and you can invest in other people as well. The support is always there. It's like presence. The presence here in new albany is huge. You show out and show up for people and they do that in return for you. So it's just been so fun since coming here in january 1. Everybody has been so welcoming and inviting and that's just such a cool group of people to come into, with being new too, Just the support is endless.
Speaker 2:Yeah, awesome. Well, hey, thanks for your time, thank you.
Speaker 1:I appreciate it.
Speaker 2:We're going to kidnap Dave, and so hopefully that will be coming soon.
Speaker 1:What I love about New Albany is the holiday tree lighting.
Speaker 2:I love the Heights Center, the walkability and convenience. My favorite part of New Albany is you?