What was the UMass Lowell Innovation Hub in downtown Haverhill has become Pinnacle, a private nonprofit that will manage and maintain workspaces for dozens of businesses.
New England Invents, one of the many tenants that was almost displaced by the end of year closing of the iHub, has become the operator. George Peters, president and CEO, discussed the motivation behind the new name Thursday during a live appearance over WHAV’s “Win for Breakfast” show.
“That was a name that people could gravitate towards because it is first class office and event space right in the middle of Haverhill. We’ve had people contact us from as far as Salem, Mass.”
Peters and Seth Cordes, CEO and president of Uncommon Catalyst that actually started at the space, became successful and outgrew it, took the lead. They seek to ensure the 11,000 square feet of startup and incubator space continues. The space also is popular for events and meetings by community groups.
As only WHAV reported last September, UMass Lowell gave tenants a little more than a month’s notice to leave. If there had been no intervention, Peters explained, their resuscitation work would have been much more difficult.
“It would have been really a heavy lift if everybody had left in October, November, December. The mayor’s office, with Rep. (Andy X.) Vargas put together the team to just keep working out how the plan could be put in place,” Peters said.
He said the co-working space’s woes began with the COVID-19 pandemic, saying it took its toll on the iHub. He and Cordes seek to bring it back.
“What we thought it could be and, frankly, what it was in 2019 when it was completely full—the suite offices that we have, the dedicated desks, the open networking. We have five different conference rooms there, very busy, very active,” he said.
Where UMass Lowell fell short, he said, was not developing a marketing program to attract tenants back and “reactivate the space.” They’ll start the process with an open house Thursday, March 6, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., to reintroduce the space.
Peters said he’ll expand New England Invents to take on the challenge and will be interviewing prospective board members over the next few months. They’ll also be getting a new telephone number and website since the old ones went away with UMass Lowell.
Pinnacle offers seven different membership categories at various rates and terms starting at $25 per day for a day pass member. There are also office suites—all with river views and an assigned underground parking space; interior offices; dedicated and open desks; and virtual addresses.
Amenities include high speed wireless internet; conference rooms with audio-visual equipment; kitchen; mail and shipping service; office cleaning and waste removal; printing, copying and scanning; and all utilities. Unlike other space, there is no first, last or security deposit.