Opening just over a year ago with 15k SF, DeskHub, Downtown San Diego's largest co-working space, is adding 8k SF in July, bringing total space to nearly 23k SF, to meet growing demand. This will take seats available from 200 to more than 300, says DeskHub CEO Jay Chernikoff (pictured), who is among the office experts presenting at our San Diego Annual Office Forum on June 23.

Jay tells us the expansion will occupy half of the first floor and the entire second floor of the DeskHub building at 2159 India St in Little Italy (below).

While conventional thinking is that co-working space is Millennial, entrepreneur territory, a recent CBRE survey of large global firms found more than 40% of respondents are using or considering shared workplaces and 63% of users are 31 to 50 years old, with an average age of 40.

DeskHub is no exception. “We have a wide swath of people—individuals working alone up to companies with 40 workers," Jay says. “Not all of them are doing tech—building apps. A bunch are doing all kinds of interesting things." Tenants include an architectural firm; Wag, the dog walking service; a recruiting firm based in London; and a professional consultant who left a consulting firm and continues serving his clients from DeskHub.

Suggesting that co-working is the “Uberization” of office space, he tells Bisnow more people are considering shared space because by-the-seat services “make it easy for new businesses to get going.” The $500/seat membership is a cheaper option for startups, because it’s all-inclusive, providing internet, conference facilities and office furniture, and does not lock users into a lease.

Additionally, it allows companies to grow at their own pace, he notes, simply by adding another seat when a new employee comes on board. As companies grow, DeskHub moves people around to create pods, where team members are seated together to work as a team.

“When you have three, four or five seats in a space, it creates a community or network of people.” Whether working as an individual or in a group, Jay notes having people all around provides the feeling of having co-workers, even for individuals working alone.

“Co-working space gets like-minded people together, and from an entrepreneurial standpoint, there’s a lot of value in that,” he adds, noting it encourages collaboration. Jay says there are several teams where members started as individuals working alone and are now in a collaborative relationship.

Hear more from Jay and our other office experts at San Diego’s Annual Office Forum on June 23, beginning at 7:30am with breakfast and networking at the Westin San Diego, 400 Broadway, in Downtown. Sign up here!