A new 700-square-foot coworking spot called the Renaissance Lounge opened at 112 Broadway St. in Durham on Oct. 29, 2026, giving entrepreneurs, nonprofits and community organizers a place to work and gather without signing a traditional office lease. The space is the latest expansion from ReCity Network, the nonprofit-rooted coworking operator that has grown from a single warehouse room into a 25,000-square-foot hub housing nearly 90 organizations.
ReCity founder and executive director KJ Hill said the lounge welcomes entrepreneurs, startups, small businesses, nonprofits and neighbors, according to The News & Observer. Durham Mayor Leo Williams joined Hill for the opening, the paper reported. Williams, who participated in ReCity's early planning stages a decade ago, said the organization grew from a warehouse room into what he described as an economic workforce engine, per the same report.
The Renaissance Lounge is designed for daily walk-ins from individual workers during the day, then shifts in the evenings to host private events, panels, workshops, community gatherings and live music nights, according to the News & Observer. ReCity says the project is meant to lower entry barriers for Durham entrepreneurs and community organizers who might otherwise be priced out of downtown office space.
A Coworking Hub Built on Subsidized Pricing
ReCity's broader campus already offers private offices, coworking areas, flexible desk space, conference rooms, a podcast studio, a kitchen, event space and a lounge, per the News & Observer. On its own site, ReCity Network lists weekday coworking starting at $99 a month, all-access coworking at $179 a month, dedicated desks at $299 a month, and private offices at $499 a month that include internet, parking, conference-room hours, a printing allotment and coffee. Those conference rooms can hold anywhere from 4 to 18 people, the organization says.
The pricing model is intentional. A profile on coworking platform Coworks notes that members who pay for ReCity's space are effectively helping subsidize space for others, with the site explaining that the money members spend helps subsidize space for others trying to change the world. ReCity lists more than 85 member organizations; roughly 75% are led by women or people of color, according to the News & Observer.
Entrepreneurs Who Got Their Start at ReCity
The incubator model has already produced tangible local business wins. M.Y. Café, a botanical beverage lab, launched inside ReCity Network, the News & Observer reported. Co-founder and Durham native Matthias Payton has said the ReCity model lets the business test a standalone location without needing massive upfront capital, with a longer-term goal of eventually opening a tea shop in Durham.
Leo Williams has his own stake in the space beyond city hall. He and his wife, Zweli Williams, own a Zimbabwean restaurant that held its first sold-out cooking class inside the ReCity building, according to the News & Observer. The News & Observer noted that opening a restaurant in North Carolina can cost anywhere from $161,000 to $460,000, a price tag that makes shared-space models like ReCity's an appealing, lower-cost alternative to a traditional commercial lease for entrepreneurs still finding their footing.
Downtown's Shifting Business Landscape
The Renaissance Lounge arrives as downtown Durham's small-business turnover remains a live topic. Downtown Durham added 50 new businesses in 2024, including 46 locally owned, 22 women-owned and nine minority-owned ventures, according to the News & Observer. That same year, the district lost 21 businesses overall, with 17 closing completely and four relocating outside downtown, the paper reported.
Citywide, minority-owned businesses make up 29% of Durham's retail and hospitality sector and women-owned businesses make up 43%, per Downtown Durham Inc. figures cited by the News & Observer. CJ Broderick, president and CEO of the Greater Durham Black Chamber of Commerce — an organization that supports the development and growth of the city's Black business community — said entrepreneurs and businesses need support to endure, according to the paper. Durham is home to nearly 3,000 Black-owned businesses, the News & Observer reported.
Downtown Durham Inc.'s 2024 State of Downtown Durham report put overall 2023 downtown office occupancy at 86%, and no new office product was built or renovated downtown that year, per the Downtown Durham, Inc. Closure counts for 2023 also vary by source: ABC11 reported that 10 downtown businesses closed that year according to Downtown Durham Inc., while Indy Week reported that 17 businesses moved out or closed downtown during the same period.
Other Shared-Space Options Downtown
ReCity is not the only player offering flexible workspace in downtown Durham. American Underground, which launched in 2010 and says it has served thousands of members, offers short-term and month-to-month coworking and private office memberships, according to its website. The company announced plans in 2025 to return to its original home at American Tobacco Campus later that year.
Downtown Durham Inc. has also experimented with lowering barriers for small retailers, partnering with Durham-based echo on a 300-square-foot pop-up storefront adjacent to its office. Hometown Apparel was the pop-up's first tenant through June 2023, according to the organization's 2024 report.
ReCity's latest expansion represents one more attempt to keep entrepreneurial activity rooted downtown even as the economics of running a storefront or office there keep shifting.
