THRIVE Acquires North Carolina Coworking Operator

The company added some 30,000 square feet of flexible office space to its portfolio.

111 Bain St.
AZ Development-owned 111 Bain St. houses one of the two coworking locations. Image courtesy of CommercialEdge

THRIVE | Coworking has acquired transform GSO, an independent flexible office provider with two coworking locations in Greensboro, N.C. Originally known as HQ Greensboro, the company rebranded in 2020. Following the merger, the locations will be renamed as transform GSO Powered by THRIVE | Coworking.

The two flexible office locations total roughly 30,000 square feet, including 74 offices and 11 meeting rooms, as well as open coworking space. The company’s five employees will be retained, as reported by the Triad Business Journal.


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The downtown offices are at 109 W. Lewis St. and 111 Bain St., in two adjacent buildings. Both are owned by AZ Development, according to CommercialEdge data. Andy Zimmerman, the owner of AZ Development, is also a co-founder of tGSO along with Ken Causey. In prepared remarks Zimmerman stated he plans to further collaborate with THRIVE in Greensboro.

Completed in 1910, the 109 W. Lewis St. building spans roughly 9,300 square feet. The 111 Bain St. property totals 108,000 square feet across three stories. It originally came online in 1920 as an industrial facility and was converted to office use in 2019. Additionally, the building is subject to an $11 million loan from Townebank originated in 2020, the same source shows.

THRIVE’s coworking footprint expansion

The Greensboro expansion is THRIVE’s third North Carolina venture, along with locations in Ashville and Holly Springs. In an interview with Commercial Property Executive, THRIVE CRO Chris Smith described the company’s growth strategy as aiming for walkable downtown markets ranging between 10,000 and 25,000 square feet.

The company operates various locations in Ohio, Alabama, Georgia and the Carolinas. Asset management group 33 Degrees partnered with THRIVE, intending to open 500 locations throughout the U.S. and Canada. The firm’s strategy mostly revolves around acquiring existing operators who wish to exit or scale.

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