Switchyards unveils new Neighborhood Clubs for gathering in West End, Midtown

For the past three years, Switchyards Downtown Club has sought to create a B2C startup hub that serves as workspace, educational resource, and gathering place for entrepreneurs.

Now, founder Michael Tavani is honing that focus to create a place where people can experience work, leisure, and community in tandem. It’s a concept that’ll soon branch out of downtown—possibly way beyond.

“It hits on the future of physical space in an attention/digital world,” Tavani told Curbed Atlanta this week. “A community in vacant spaces that’s part office, coffee shop, and social club.”

Enter the Switchyards Neighborhood Club concept, which is a members-only neighborhood social experience for creatives craving community and a place to be productive.

“We have a very different view of commercial real estate,” Tavani said. “I think the industry is way behind the times and is about to get flipped upside down. We are not a developer, we’re a brand. All we think about is what physical space means in the attention economy. That’s a massive shift.”

Switchyards

For Tavani, that means having people put down their phones and engage face-to-face with one another. At the new Switchyards Neighborhood Club, members would have plenty of opportunities to do just that.

They could converse over breakfast at the coffee shop, share a desk in the coworking space, or discuss ideas in one of the private meeting rooms.

Membership benefits include a coffee bar with bottomless East Pole coffee and tea, communal and private dining spaces, a private cafe serving breakfast, lunch, happy hour, and dinner, and plenty of spots for working or relaxing with friends.

Luke Beard/Switchyards

Individual memberships are $75 per month, or, if joining with a friend, $49 per month. Memberships come with access to all neighborhood club locations.

Located at 151 Ted Turner Drive N.W., the Switchyards Downtown Club is a 19,000-square-foot facility containing an espresso bar, a 250-seat theater, 12 conference rooms, and one ping-pong table. The Neighborhood Club will commence at this location in June.

In July, Switchyards will unveil a new location in the West End, a 10,000-square-foot building at 691 West Whitehall S.W.

And a 7,000-square-foot facility is set to open in Midtown this fall.

These three locations could be just the beginning, Tavani said.

“I believe we can do seven to 10 neighborhood clubs around Atlanta, including a few Outside the Perimeter, over the next 18 to 24 months before we expand to another city,” he said.