Galvanize
The Galvanize space at 111 S. Jackson St. in Seattle. (Galvanize Photo)

Galvanize, the Denver-based company that offers co-working space and coding education bootcamps in several U.S. cities, is closing its location in Seattle after seven years.

The company said doors would be shutting at the end of August at 111 S. Jackson St. in Pioneer Square. Galvanize first leased all five floors and 71,000 square feet in the building in 2015.

Galvanize’s hybrid model combines tech office space with a programming school, access to investors and mentorship. Co-working options in the Seattle location included space for entrepreneurs and startup employees ranging from one seat to a private room for teams of up to 30 employees, with prices ranging from $250 to $1,600 per month.

The building offered “everything from state-of-the-art workspaces and iconic views of Elliott Bay to easy access to some of the city’s best restaurants and coffee shops,” according to Galvanize’s website. It was also set up to host events ranging from meetups to hackathons.

In an email to members on Friday, Galvanize Senior Director of Business Operations Lindsey Rohde called the news “sudden, sad, and frustrating to say the least.” (See full email at bottom.)

“Over the past 7 years, several Galvanize team members and I have had the opportunity to meet many incredible people and watch numerous businesses and students grow within these 5 gorgeous floors,” Rohde said. “It is our hope that the community we built here together will hold a footnote in your future success story.” 

According to Galvanize, one employee will be impacted by the closure of the Seattle space, while 380 co-working members will be displaced.

Galvanize’s Seattle co-working space. (Galvanize Photo)

Founded in 2012, Galvanize was acquired by online education company K12 Inc. in January 2020 in a $165 million deal. At the time, Galvanize had graduated more than 8,000 students who went on to work at approximately 2,250 companies, including tech giants such as Amazon, Google, Apple and Facebook.

Galvanize’s education model competed against other software development schools in the Seattle region, including Code FellowsCoding DojoAda Developers Academy, and more.

At the end of 2021, the company announced that it was shifting its Hack Reactor software engineering education to an online format.

The COVID-19 pandemic was especially hard on co-working spaces. Among the Seattle area’s co-working casualties were Impact Hall, Atlas Networks, The Riveter, Hing Hay Coworks, Ballard Labs and Office Nomads. More than 800 co-working spaces permanently closed their doors nationwide, according to Upsuite, a flexible office space provider.

In the era of hybrid work models that has emerged in the wake of the pandemic, some co-working spaces that survived are now thriving.

“Like many businesses coming through the pandemic, Galvanize has had to adjust the way we serve our customers and communities,” the company said in a statement provided to GeekWire. “We are proud to continue serving students through our remote online Galvanize and Hack Reactor programs.” 

Beyond Seattle, Galvanize operates locations in Denver, Boulder, Austin, San Francisco and Phoenix. Operations will continue at those locations.

Here is the full email to Seattle members from Galvanize’s Lindsey Rohde:

Hi gSeattle Community, 

As you likely now know, Galvanize has made an immensely tough decision to close our coworking operations in Seattle. This means our doors will be shutting on Wednesday, August 31, 2022. 

Over the past 7 years, several Galvanize team members and I have had the opportunity to meet many incredible people and watch numerous businesses and students grow within these 5 gorgeous floors. It is our hope that the community we built here together will hold a footnote in your future success story. 

We know this news is sudden, sad, and frustrating to say the least; with that we ask that you show our staff kindness through this transition. The team and I will do our best to assist throughout this process and still provide the highest level of service through our last days together. 

To approach this as clearly as possible we will be keeping you updated frequently throughout this process via Slack and email. Please stay tuned for moving information, account updates, and future office options, etc.

We can’t say enough about the positive impact that all of our members have had on this community — we simply couldn’t have done it without you.

Warmly, 

Lindsey and the Galvanize-Seattle Team 

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