Vault 405 Brings Coworking Craze To Edmond

Resting in the old Citizens Bank of Edmond building on 10 N. Broadway, Edmond’s new coworking space, Vault 405, officially opens for business on Thursday.

According to Project Coordinator Marla Lance, Citizens Bank CEO Jill Castilla had the idea to bring Vault 405 to Edmond after viewing a similar coworking space during a visit to Barclays Bank in New York City in 2016.

“Vault 405 is really here to encourage the small businesses and entrepreneurs of Citizens Bank of Edmond to have a space to work, and collaborate, and network with other likeminded individuals, and provide a space that gives them the amenities they need to support their business,” Lance said.

The coworking phenomenon arrived in Oklahoma City a few years ago, with StarSpace46, Halcyon Works, Rise OKC and The Barn OKC now all competing for creative, freelance and small business feet in the door.

Vault 405 is the first such space in Edmond, and according to Lance, the space is putting a major priority on community connection.

“When it comes to programming and networking, we really want to encourage opportunities for people to meet other businesses within this building, and also in the community,” she said. “For example, having different workshops and events that bring everyone together to learn and benefit their business.”

Workshops will primarily focus on banking-related topics, like business accounts and loans that Citizens Bank offers. But Lance said that they would also expand into other areas as well.

“We’re talking about workshops on the benefits of social media marketing for your business, mindfulness in the workplace, talking about company culture, communication topics, really just anything that would benefit them,” she said. “Even one about maybe taxes, and like, how to file your taxes as a small business. Those things don’t sound fun, but really would be so beneficial.”

Lance hopes that Vault 405 will become a community anchor, and the space has become a kind of personal project for her; in addition to managing the logistics, membership and project timelines, Lance and her team has worked tirelessly to make the space as inviting as possible.

Furniture is modular and easily movable. The main floor, which includes a large seating area, movable conference tables and what Lance calls “designated desks” – cubicles with full amenities – is brightly lit and fully open. Local art populates the walls. The space has its own break room and mail room, and Urban Agrarian is renting retail space immediately adjacent to the coworking area that coworking members will be able to access.

There are also several conference rooms, a larger meeting room meant for presentations, and – unique to Vault 405, at least in Oklahoma – a podcasting studio. This feature, Lance said, was added after heavy demand by their already-growing list of members.

“We’re gonna have a podcasting studio, which will be a part of our conference room access, so your membership would include a specific amount of conference room hours a month that would be complimentary, and the podcasting studio would be included in that,” she said. “And so, it’s for our members, but also for non-members to utilize the space as well, if they wanted to rent it out for an hour or two.”

Memberships vary depending on the type of work you want to do. Coworking – which gives you access to workshops, classes and networking events and 24/7 access to the facility (pending a background check) – is $175 a month. Dedicated desk memberships run for $275 and also provide locked storage and mail services. And a private office membership runs for $400 a month on a six- or 12-month membership plan. In addition, day passes are available for $20 a day or $100 for 10 days.

“I hope that [in a year] this space will be filled with inspiring and motivated people that love their jobs and the work that they do,” Lance said.

Vault 405 celebrates its ribbon-cutting at 4:00 PM on March 1, with food catered by Urban Agrarian. They will also be hosting an open house during Heard on Hurd, Saturday, March 17.