The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is a hub of coworking communities, with the largest concentrations of offices huddled around downtown Dallas and North Dallas, but there are a handful of outliers scattered around the greater DFW area.

One such coworking space, The McKinney Werx, is tucked far away from the chaos of downtown or even the urban sprawl immediately surrounding it. Located in a 105-year-old cotton mill in the far north suburb of McKinney, you can actually drive from the Werx to the Oklahoma border in about the same amount of time it would take to get to downtown Dallas—faster if you count the morning rush hour.

The Building

In some ways, the McKinney Cotton Mill feels more like an arts and entertainment district than an office space. The interior is all exposed brick walls and ancient wooden staircases, and some of the old pulleys from the mill’s days as the country’s largest blue jean factory still cling to the ceiling. The Cotton Mill also features art from local artists, some of which is made from scrap metal that fits in perfectly with the building’s ancient fire doors (visible in the picture below).

The mill houses a large, wood-pillared event hall that is rented out for weddings and other events, and the newly opened Tupps Brewery resides in a corrugated metal building on the premises that opens its doors every weekend for beer tastings, food, and live music.

“The Cotton Mill is a cool, old building with an abundance of character. It provides a great setting for The Werx,” said John Selzer, a member at The Werx and co-founder of an early stage startup called Ziggli. “I love sharing The Werx and the grounds of the Cotton Mill with visitors.”

He added, “There are so many interesting architectural features and remnants of the building’s former life as one of the largest mills in the U.S. This is not your typical office space.”

The Office

The coworking space itself has ample desks available, as well as a conference room, a stage for presentations, and a small kitchen and break area.

As with many coworking spaces, what sets the Werx apart from a home office or a Starbucks table is the sense of community and the collaborative spirit of working alongside like-minded entrepreneurs and freelancers.

“The coworking experience is perfect for an early-stage start-up,” Selzer said. “It provides a flexible work environment, fosters collaboration and it fits perfectly into a bootstrap budget.”

The Werx offers several options for membership levels, including a $75/mo open desk membership and a $150/mo dedicated desk membership. There are also small and mid-size offices available for $600/mo and $1200/mo, respectively, for a 3-month minimum contract.

While open desk seating is available for entrepreneurs and certain non-tech businesses, the dedicated desks are specifically reserved for technology startups. Some of the Werx’s current residents include companies involved with educational video streaming, medical device connectivity, and video game development.

In addition to the usual membership perks, dedicated desk and office residents also gain access to special investor networking events, as well as the Werx’s own network of mentors. The Werx is partnered with the McKinney Economic Development Corporation, whose mission is “to work to create an environment in which community-oriented businesses can thrive.”

The Location

The distance from downtown can be both a strength and a weaknesses depending on what you want out of a coworking space.

The opportunity for chance encounters is smaller outside of the city. Oren Salomon, founder of the Fort Work coworking space in downtown Dallas, told me in a recent interview, “people who would want to show up to a coworking space really value collisions.”

But the Werx hosts frequent networking and lecture events that draw in crowds from all around the Dallas startup community, giving residents a chance to connect with new people outside their own workspace.

Some people may be worried about the commute involved with getting to the Werx since it over 30 miles from the heart of downtown, but Selzer explained that even with the office’s distance from downtown, it is actually an easy commute. “I live in north Dallas,” Selzer said, “but it takes me less time to commute to The Werx than it does for my wife to make it downtown.”

If you want to test out the drive for yourself, the Werx hosts a free coffee hour every Thursday at 9:30AM, which is a great time to explore the space and meet the people who work there.

Contact information

The WERX in Mckinney

610 Elm St. suite 700

McKinney TX 75069

office: 214-856-4113

website: mckinneywerx.com

Photos by Eric David | SiliconANGLE