After the birth of her son, Cheeky Monkey Coffee owner Maggie Blackham searched for a place to work and access child care at the same time.

“It’s not a new concept,” Blackham said, including The Wing in New York City as an example. “But I thought, ‘I just really wish Wilmington had this.'”

In addition to overseeing her downtown Wilmington coffee shop and working as an interior designer, Blackham is launching Elevate Coworking, a space designed for female entrepreneurs that she plans to open in two phases this summer.

For the Wilmington endeavor, Blackham leased 6,500 square feet at 2512 Independence Blvd. in Barclay Commons.

Her company also launched an IFundWomen crowdfunding campaign to implement the plan more quickly, she said, anticipating being open for members by June 15 and for all potential members July 1.

“Women entrepreneurs are more effective when surrounded by other women who create a positive and focused work environment,” said Blackham, who is founder and CEO of Elevate Coworking, in a news release. “I couldn’t find anything like this in our community so I decided to build it to support the network of working women and moms I know. I wanted to be able to show up, make friends and talk about the struggles of work/life balance with others who get it. So we decided to offer child care to further facilitate that objective. The result is Elevate.”

Blackham said the COVID-19 pandemic forced people to work from home for so long that these days, they want to be out and about.

“Everyone is craving more community,” she said. “We have been missing the connection and validation that being with like-minded people brings. As we strive to help our members establish a strong foundation upon which their businesses and families can thrive, our physical location is so important.”

Elevate Coworking is expected to offer female entrepreneurs the following, according to the release: 

• Creative space: a community-centric office space to fight isolation and improve productivity, while offering access to tools like a photo studio, podcast room, etc.
• Continuing education: on-site workshops and access to mentorship;
• Onsite child care: four-hour blocks of on-site child care.