As it looks to open its first locations outside of Texas, a local coworking space operator is rebranding ahead of a broader expansion effort.

Formerly WorkSuites, the Dallas-based private office-focused coworking operator is looking to build on its growth locally and nationally, now as Lucid Private Offices.

Flip Howard, founder and CEO of WorkSuites. [Photo: WorkSuites]

“I think we serve a niche in the market that is vastly underserved,” Flip Howard, founder and CEO at Lucid, told Dallas Innovates via email. “A lot of people are looking for space that is more professional than a casual coworking space, but that is not sleepy and dated like an executive suite, and we are a unique fit for that group

Next location set to open in McKinney

The announcement—and launch of the company’s new website—comes at Lucid is set to open its newest location in McKinney’s Craig Ranch Development later this month. That will add to the 16 other locations the company operates in North Texas, including in places like Dallas, Southlake, Grapevine, Plano, and Frisco.

Lucid also said its is close to launching its fifth location in Houston. Overall, the company said that it’s planning to add nearly 100,000 square feet of space across four locations in Texas—where it already has more than 20 locations—this year, with its primary offering of private offices catering towards professionals, entrepreneurs, and teams of up to 30.

Eying expansion across the South and Sunbelt

The announcement also comes as Lucid is set to open its first two locations in the Atlanta area next year. The previously announced locations in Alpharetta and Cumberland will add nearly 53,000 square feet of space flex and private office space to the company’s portfolio.

Those expansions will make the beginning of what the company hopes will be a broader push outside of the Lone Star state. In addition to plans to double its Houston footprint over the next few years, Lucid said that it’s aiming to have two more Atlanta-area locations by the end of next year and is “very close” to finalizing two new locations in the Phoenix area.

Over the next two to three years, the company hopes to have multiple locations in North Texas, Houston, Phoenix, and Atlanta, along with adding another Sunbelt market to its portfolio. However, it notes that “nothing is set in stone.

“Every (location) that we’ve opened has filled up faster than they used to,” Howard said when the first two Atlanta-area locations were announced in May.

A ‘proven path to profitability’

Howard said the expansions fit into the company’s growth strategy from the past few years, “which is 20-25% annual growth using only existing cash flow and not taking on additional debt or equity.” He added that the company doesn’t add locations to capture market share or to put “dots on a map,” only signing deals where there is a “proven path to profitability” and where the company can charge and pay “prevailing rent in that market.”

Howard also said that the new Lucid locations will continue its strategy of focusing on locations outside of the central business district of a region, instead focusing on areas outside of downtown cores or in surrounding suburbs, where Howard previously told Dallas Innovates is where the company has been seeing increased demand from smaller startup companies and freelancers to large businesses due to the increase in gig work and the demand for more hybrid working arrangements—something he sees continuing into the future.

“You’re seeing a lot more corporate users willing to pay for coworking space for someone who lives in a suburb, but the corporate offices are downtown,” Howard told Dallas Innovates earlier this year. “Then, on the individual side, there are just a lot more freelancers and the gig economy is growing. That increases the customer base on the corporate side and the entrepreneur side.”

Meridian Business Centers to WorkSuites to Lucid Private Offices

So, what’s in a name? The change to Lucid Private Offices isn’t the first rebranding for the 21-year-old company. It took on the WorkSuites name in 2018, a change from Meridian Business Centers in a move that again was to better define the company’s changing product offering, as it was adding new amenities and entering “growth mode,” Howard told the Dallas Regional Chamber.

The company said the rebranding to Lucid will also help “clearly convey” its position in the market. Meaning bright and clear, the company hopes the name Lucid reflects the modern, uncluttered offices and spaces it offers. Howard added that the decision was made easy by the fact that the company was told the name WorkSuites was not trademarkable because it was “merely descriptive.”

“The name WorkSuites didn’t suggest premium private offices. It sounded descriptive and basic or temporary like a hotel,” Howard said. “We felt like our name was holding us back from being perceived as what we are.”