New shared office space opened this week in a historic building in downtown Wilmington.

Grow, a co-working space in Suite D at 805 N. Fourth St., is a project by Adrienne and Stephanie Vendetti, sisters and entrepreneurs who started their company, How to be a Redhead, more than six years ago.

The goal for Grow, said Adrienne Vendetti, is to include 35-38 members, capped at 40, who sign up to use the 1,300-square-foot space they lease in the former home of National Biscuit Company Bakery. The building, located in the city's Brooklyn Arts District and also part of the Central Business District, dates back to more than 100 years ago.

“We’ve had a great response since we’ve been open since Tuesday. People are just really excited that this is here now in [downtown] Wilmington, and people are able to be part of a community,” Adrienne Vendetti said on Thursday.

She said when she and Stephanie were living in different cities and starting their website, HowToBeARedHead.com, she found out what it was like to work from home.

“It can be very isolating and sometimes not healthy to be by yourself all day. I think, personally, when you’re around other people who are also creative, it just gives you the best world because you’re working for yourself but you’re around other people and it’s encouraging,” Adrienne Vendetti said.

She said the Vendettis plan to hold at least one group activity each month to foster the sense of community they're trying to create at Grow.

A membership to Grow costs $99 a month, or $10 for a day pass. Members will have 24-hour access to the space, which includes places to plug in computers, personal work areas, tables for collaboration, photo and video space, phone booths for private calls, free coffee, tea and water, an area designed to look like a living room (pictured below) and other amenities.

Wilmington-based Lativa Coffee Co. is providing the coffee, and Langston Design supplied pillows for the space. Clay by Cole’s succulent clay pots and the artwork of local photographer Kimberly Dam are also featured at Grow. 

The Vendettis had housed a fulfillment office for HowToBeARedHead.com in the same building until recently, when they moved out to find a bigger space and to work on Grow.

Adrienne Vendetti said Grow’s mission fits in with the current atmosphere of North Fourth Street.

“The area is growing,” she said. “I just think of all the different things that are popping up on North Fourth Street, and I think it’s going to be a really exciting street to be a part of. It’s a good feeling when you’re there.”

For those who want a tour of Grow or to sign up, they can email the Vendettis through their Grow website.

Co-working spaces aren’t new to the Wilmington area, and there are examples throughout the city, including at the University of North Carolina Wilmington's Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at 803 S. College Road.

But a shared office space at 27 N. Front St. in downtown Wilmington, BuenaSpace, closed in 2012.

Yet interest in coworking space downtown remains, especially among creative class entrepreneurs, said Ed Wolverton, president and CEO of Wilmington Downtown Inc.

“We’re building that ecosystem for emerging entrepreneurs, and so this [Grow] is a progression for the ecosystem,” Wolverton said.