Many now know of coworking offices because of the rise of companies like WeWork. But what about “cowarehousing?”

Well, a new cowarehousing facility just opened in Denver.

FlexETC, which launched in Los Angeles in 2022, debuted in Colorado’s capital this month with its second location as it aims to expand warehouses with a similar business model to coworking spaces to other cities nationwide.

Like an office, businesses can rent out storage spaces at the warehouse facility north of downtown off of Interstate 25 that range from 300 to 3,000 square feet. The FlexETC site also has shared amenities such as conference rooms, wi-fi, photo and podcast studios and a communal kitchen with a stocked coffee bar.

Businesses don’t have to worry about maintenance, janitorial or security services, because FlexETC also manages it for them.

“We’re using ‘cowarehousing’ in the nascent industry,” said FlexETC founder Laurent Opman. “But let’s see if that term remains or if somebody else comes up with a better name for a product that has been around for a long time, but hasn’t been done in a way that is very professional.”

Many warehouses are outdated, he said. Most require businesses to sign long-term leases or their spaces are too big for their needs. And one large problem in the industry, Opman said, is a lack of a work environment up to modern standards.

“The cowarehousing industry is trying to find a solution to help people set up their business, grow their business, expand their business,” Opman said, “and do that in a very flexible way.”

FlexETC offers a variety of storage space sizes at its site on 5180 Fox St., and the ability to sign leases for weeks, months or years.

FlexETC is targeting growing regions like Denver with a booming entrepreneurial scene to meet the needs of new businesses that may not want their own warehouse space and are looking to rent.

“Denver obviously came on our radar very, very quickly as an area that had a lot of those characteristics,” Opman said.

There are several cowarehousing facilities in Denver that have been successful, Opman said. And there’s high demand for warehouses overall in the market.

One cowarehousing company, Atlanta-based Saltbox, opened its fifth national location in Denver two years ago and grew to 100 members, Saltbox regional director Lucy Voss said in an email. When it opened, its CEO and co-founder Tyler Scriven said it would help cater to the area’s emerging tech startup scene. The site has offices, flexible warehouse space, photo studios and conference rooms.

“This vibrant community of businesses represents the heart of our mission: to empower growth and scalability for small to medium-sized businesses,” Voss said.

Saltbox also launched the Park Hill Innovation Hub, a 10,000-square-foot incubator for developing businesses in partnership with the city of Denver, Wells Fargo, and The Collective for the Advancement of BIPOC+ Businesses.

At first, FlexETC company was targeting businesses like e-commerce shops who defaulted to renting self-storage sites when warehouses weren’t practical for them.

But when they opened in L.A., Opman said it was a hit and filled up in four months with a variety of businesses with all sorts of uses beyond storing products waiting to be exported.

Some were events companies who needed space to hold props or businesses working on specific projects requiring short-term storage. Marketing companies also use the space for creative assignments and take advantage of the studios.

A large percentage of companies are staying longer than initially expected, Opman said, because they value building relationships with other businesses built around the shared amenities.

“That creates a true sense of community in an industry that typically does not really have that,” Opman said.

Another FlexETC site will open in Dallas in several weeks and facilities are under construction in Salt Lake City and Nashville, Opman said. And in the future, he said the company plans to open several locations within each city — including Denver.