I wanted to take a break from our typical format to formally announce a thrilling change for CommonPlaces. On October 1, we officially moved into our new home at 186 Granite Street in Manchester, NH. The space is 50% bigger than we were before, and I am 100% excited about it.
CommonPlaces is, and has been, very much a national company, so perhaps the main benefit from the move is that it makes us more centrally located, placing us within greater proximity to Rt. 93 and making it easier for our clients to find and visit us. We're now about ten minutes from Manchester-Boston Regional Airport and within an hour from Logan International Airport. You can hop on the interstate and drive straight into Boston.
Without a doubt, moving to Manchester is also a much greater convenience to our employees. Most of our team lives within easy driving distance to the new facility. As I see the cars lined up crawling their way into Boston in the morning, I am glad we have a reverse commute with no traffic. For all that, we get an amazing new headquarters, and they are all thrilled about that. We now have features in the office that we have dreamed about.
- Large, open areas for a collaborative environment for our web design and inbound marketing teams
- More conference rooms
- Lounge areas for our scrum sessions
- Stations for team members who wish to stand as they work
It is, I must say, a great looking place to work. The building is over a century old once housing the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company, at one time the largest cotton textile facility in the world, where Levi Strauss' original riveted blue jeans where made. Now it has been completely renovated. The high ceilings, pine floors, and turn-of-the-century lighting fixtures lend a creative atmosphere to this most modern business we occupy as a digital agency. It really is a mix of the old with the new. Brick walls, high beams, and huge windows combine with our laptops, monitors, and state-of-the-art conference room flat screen. The team is going to have fun working in this facility.
CommonPlaces is based on a philosophy of collaboration, believing that no one individual can do the job. Rather, everything we work for daily is a team effort. This means that everybody comes into the office. We don't outsource, employ freelancers or telecommuters, so the team works its magic together. In our new building we have the luxury of a more open space with which to share thoughts, ask questions, and combine ideas. Gone are the days of four cube pens which isolate employees from each other. We searched for spaces like this one for years, and I'm pleased to say that my vision has finally has been realized.
We have signage on the second busiest street in New Hampshire. People will be stopped at a light just beyond the highway and the Merrimack River and they will see our sign, advertising a digital agency named CommonPlaces. We will stir their imaginations and curiosity every day, and hope to get some of them to go online to find out who we are, and what we are about.
Finally, the location offers access to one of the most robust, happiest, and healthiest cities in the US. Our employees love to go for walks and clear the cobwebs. The Riverwalk along the Merrimack River affords that opportunity, and is a beautiful setting. We have some wonderful neighbors, too. We are nestled between The University of New Hampshire and Southern New Hampshire University as our neighbors.
WMUR, the state's largest television station is directly across the street. A baseball stadium is on the same street, which thrills many of our employees. The Verizon center is up the street. DYN is nearby; some of the region's most innovative technologies call our neighborhood home. It has become a technology hotbed, and we are right in the center of it all.
CommonPlaces is ready for the next phase in our journey. We welcome you to jump onboard and come visit us. It's going to be a great ride!