Cowarehousing company Saltbox has signed a new lease in Alexandria, Virginia, where it will take up 45,407 square feet of space.
Last December, Fundrise acquired the property on 4700 Eisenhower Avenue for $14.1 million.
Following a $10.6 million Series A funding round, Saltbox is working to expand its business that aims to provide shared warehouse spaces for small businesses. Currently, the company has locations across Denver, Los Angeles, and Seattle, and the Alexandria space marks its entrance into the Washington D.C. market.
Companies can use Saltbox in a variety of ways, including as a fulfillment center, flexible workspace, while having access to experts and “a community of like-minded entrepreneurs.”
This expansion coincides with the growing demand for shared, flexible space within the workforce. As consumer demand continues to skyrocket, shortages in labor and rising rental prices have led small businesses to seek alternative ways of accommodating this growth.
Ben Miller, CEO of Fundrise, has called Saltbox the “WeWork of industrial” and stated that the two firms will collaborate on several projects in the future.
“If you sell on Etsy, if you’re selling e-commerce and you need 5,400 square feet to deliver 10,000 units a year, you can’t get that from industrial building,” said Miller.
“You have to rent 200 square feet. They’ve created this WeWork model where there’s a much clearer value proposition and there’s a huge premium because you’re not paying for square footage, you’re paying for a service which is to fulfill your logistics needs of your business.”
