Have you been to Chatham County’s top coworking and innovation hot spot? If not, you are missing out – so much is happening at 79°West Innovation Hub!
“Our mission is simple: to be a county hub for trilateral partnerships between local government, for-profit enterprise and nonprofit organizations,” says 79°West Co-Director Dustin Miller. Home base for the Rotary Club of Pittsboro and the Chatham Artists Guild, the hub is also utilized by the Chatham County EDC and soon the Chatham Chamber of Commerce.
Twenty-five private office tenants utilize 79°West, and 67 businesses and teams work in the space. In the past 18 months, the hub hosted 200+ community events and 2,000 private meetings, featured 22 Chatham Artists Guild artists on its walls, and provided high-speed internet to 1300 Chatham County residents.
The inaugural 79°West Breakfast Club in August 2024 welcomed 140 attendees and its popularity continues. Other events include Innovate Carolina seminars, the Best of Chatham party, and tenant sessions, like Munson Law’s “Ask the Attorney,” and more. Hub events feature refreshments from local vendors, like Vortex Roasters, bmc brewing and 39 West Catering.
Munson Law Firm’s Katie Stokes says the collaborative environment of 79°West positively impacts her firm. “There’s nowhere else we’d want to be as we love being immersed in community and innovation,” she says. “It’s not just a workspace; it’s a place where we’ve built real relationships through workshops, networking events and spontaneous hallway chats.”
79°West members can now take their work on the road with the new Coworking Passport Program. The program offers members limited access to 10 participating locations in the Carolinas, and they are excited to try it out.
“As an organization serving both Orange and Chatham Counties, we work in different parts of the region — and even across North Carolina,” says Ashley Johnson, executive officer of Orange Chatham Association of REALTORS®. “Having access to other coworking spaces gives us flexible, professional workspace options when we’re away from Pittsboro.”
