A big city idea comes to Lafayette

LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) - Jason Tennenhouse has lived in Lafayette for 20 years. It's here where he started his businesses Greyhouse Coffee and Supply Company and GreyMob.

Tennenhouse is a local entrepreneur. He hopes to help other aspiring entrepreneurs in Lafayette with his next venture.

On Tuesday the City of Lafayette and Tennenhouse announced a plan to create a co-work space.

"It's a space where you bring entrepreneurs, people looking to do start up businesses, creative people who have ideas and want to collaborate on those ideas and begin to generate them into businesses and possible economic development opportunities," Lafayette Mayor Tony Roswarski said.

The co-work site will go into the Stein Building on Sixth Street. The building is owned by the Tippecanoe County Public Library.

Roswarski said he and his team, which includes the city's Economic Development Director, Dennis Carson, and President of Lafayettech Mikel Berger, visited similar sites in Washington D.C. and Chicago.

"I think a lot of [co-work spaces] are going to start up," Roswarski said. "I think we need to get ahead of the pack a little bit before there are too many of them. I told [workers] I would like it to open this fall."

"This community could really benefit from something like this," Tennenhouse said. "There is a creative class in this town, and entrepreneurs in the town. But you don't see a lot of them, and they don't have a place to call home."

Roswarski said the co-work space is part of a bigger goal to keep young people in the city.

"How do you keep the next generation to stay here in our community?" Roswarski said. "How do we make it kind of cool and hip? Bring different types of entertainment and festivals they like and what they're looking for, and job opportunities. You have to have a job opportunity to stay tuned."