Want an office with a view? Former Rangers stadium will be home to coworking space
As the owner and sole employee of Higgins & Thornton Consulting Services, it doesn’t make sense for Petrina Bonnick-Higgins to rent out office space. Instead, she schedules meetings at home or in coffee shops. Soon, she’ll meet clients on the third floor of Choctaw Stadium in Arlington. The stadium, which hosted the Texas Rangers until 2019, will soon be home to Baltimore-based co-working company Spark, representatives from Texas Rangers, Cordish Companies and the city of Arlington announced Wednesday. Spark Arlington will feature 30,000 square feet of space across two levels, 61 private offices, 17 suites and amenities like a podcast studio, nursing room and a community kitchen.
At Wednesday’s announcement, Bonnick-Higgins was awarded a one-year membership to Spark Arlington. “This is so needed at this moment. It’s pivotal for us to move on past the pandemic and to be able to be able to collaborate together again in the same space,” she said.
Having access to this space will allow Bonnick-Higgins to grow her business; stakeholders in Arlington’s economic growth hope Spark will provide fertile ground to grow other entrepreneurial endeavors, too. “Small business is the backbone of any community, especially here in Arlington,” said Arlington Mayor Jim Ross. “This is an opportunity to take small businesses and put them in an environment where they can really excel. They can collaborate with one another and do incredible things for the community.”
Spark Arlington is expected to open in December. “This place is going to blow up. You mark my words,” Ross said.
The addition of Spark is just one aspect of the creative reuse of Choctaw Stadium. The structure also houses the headquarters of Six Flags and the Arlington Convention and Visitors Bureau. In addition to hosting high school sports and graduations, the field is home for the Dallas Jackals, a Major League Rugby team, and the Dallas Renegades of the XFL. Wednesday’s announcement comes on the heels of news that a luxury apartment complex will be built in Arlington’s Entertainment District. “One Rangers Way” will include 300 one- and two-bedroom units as well as penthouse apartment homes and will be integrated into the Arlington Entertainment District, which includes Globe Life Field, Choctaw Stadium, AT&T Stadium and Texas Live! The ongoing development of Choctaw Stadium and the construction of One Rangers Way are part of a multibillion dollar plan to develop the area around Arlington’s stadiums, which began with the opening of $250 million entertainment and restaurant venue Texas Live! in 2018.
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