MIDDLETOWN – The Haven Collection, a combined coworking, child care and health and fitness space, is planning to expand with two new clubs by the end of the year, and a total of 25 locations through 2024.
The business, launched in August 2019 with its original Middletown location, the Coggeshall Club, recently closed its seed round with a total of $2.6 million from six investors. The business opened a second location in New Jersey last summer, and plans to use the investment funds to continue on this trajectory.
Haven is eyeing Rhode Island and nearby states Massachusetts, Connecticut and New York in its initial expansion plans, said co-founder Brittany Riley, and will eventually set its sights on a farther-reaching strategy.
The business will also put funding toward expansion and renovations to the the Coggeshall Club in Middletown
“It was our pilot, but now, not only has it proven the proof of concept, but it has addressed a huge need in the community,” Riley said, “and if any property deserves to grow, it’s this one.”
Through Haven, members have access to a coworking space; licensed child-care; a fitness area with training classes and exercise equipment; and a wellness suite offering services such as massages, career coaching and support groups.
Riley had the idea for the company around 2016, when she was working remotely with her children at home. While this issue wasn’t as prevalent as it would become when the COVID-19 pandemic struck, Riley knew she wasn’t alone in the challenge of balancing work and child care.
“It was really obvious to me that parents needed this, and that it was going to become a heavily-demanded need just by the number of parents and mothers in the workforce,” she said, “and the number of dual-income houses.”
Membership rates start at around $500 per month for use of the space for two half days or 1 full day each week, while full-time membership can range from around $1,900 to $2,200 monthly.
Though a substantial price tag, more families than there are spaces have been willing to pay it: The Coggeshall Club is fully booked with more than 100 families, Riley said, and another 100-plus are on the waiting list. Membership is at a similar rate in New Jersey.
Riley said that while the business is considered a “premium product,” it can justify the price tag through staffing needs, and an overall need for innovative services for parents.
While the Coggeshall Club had a strong start even prior to the pandemic, Riley didn’t always expect the business model would find an easy acceptance. She anticipated many executives wouldn’t understand the needs of working parents struggling to have access child care, and as a result, wouldn’t approve remote options like Haven’s coworking space.
But when many in the workforce, including executives, moved to remote roles during the pandemic, often with children at home, the tide shifted.
“The more that time went on, the more it became clear that this is the future,” Riley said of remote work options. “This is obviously what’s becoming accepted, this is something these companies have to shift to, and there are entire workforces of people showing they can do this and be productive.”
This shift has established “a world I didn’t think would exist until 10 years from now, from a business standpoint,” Riley said. “It’s ramped up everything we’re doing by a decade. Right now, we can’t grow fast enough.”
Jacquelyn Voghel is a PBN staff writer. You may reach her at Voghel@PBN.com.
