The Village at 17th Street in Santa Ana, a co-working space, provides office space exclusively to nonprofit organizations. It is one of about 400 shared workspaces across the US and Canada dedicated to nonprofits that the Denver-based Nonprofit Centers Network association calls “real estate with a social purpose." The Village is the first one in OC.

Established by a group of organizations with the common purpose of helping others, The Village offers below-market rents, according to the Orange County Register.

Children & Families Commission of OC, a government agency with a staff of 12, dispenses funds to various charities—including some housed at The Village. With The Village’s low rent, the agency saved $68,500 over three years, which was used to fund charitable programs, the agency’s executive director, Christia Altmayer, says.

The Village is the brainchild of William Podlich, retired co-founder of Newport Beach investment giant PIMCO. He, along with OC Community Foundation's Shelley Hoss and retired architect/developer Warren Lortie, found the 33,800 SF building, which was in need of repairs, updating and seismic retrofitting and established the OC Shared Spaces Foundation to buy and renovate the building.

The project cost nearly $4M, which includes a $2.5M mortgage. About $1M came from donations, and the community foundation provided a $500k loan that was repaid and another $100k loan last year. When The Village opened in 2010, leases were provided for $1.30/SF; comparable office space with similar amenities costs up to $2/SF. The Village has a 2,500 SF conference center with a boardroom, training room and kitchen, as well as another large volunteer training room, several smaller meeting rooms and a lunchroom. Yoga classes are held twice a month. [OCR]