Stuhr Crazy - The Hedde

The Stuhr Museum of The Prairie Pioneer recently toured The Hedde as part of their historic podcast series, Stuhr Crazy. You can find both Part 1 & Part 2 on Stitcher, as well as Part 1 on YouTube (posted above).

We’d like to thank the museum for taking the time to hear how we’ve endeavored to tell the history of The Hedde, something that we take great pride in, while also adapting the interior of the building to tell contemporary stories of local entrepeneurship, community and culture. Values that Fredrich Hedde himself was committed to in his lifetime. We see our work as not only any extension of those values, but also as a tribute to his legacy.

Want to know how you can become a part of The Hedde legacy? Contact us today to discover what potential openings we have for you.

The Collective: A new way for individuals to work, create new businesses

A Grand Island entrepreneur has created The Collective, a co-working space that reflects the changing ways Americans work and earn a living.

“Co-working is a bunch of individual people and businesses renting a space and being part of a group of like-minded people that work in close proximity,” said local developer Amos Anson.

The Collective is located in the Hedde Building at 202 W. Third in Grand Island’s Railside District. Anson and his partner, Tom Pirnie, joined forces and purchased the building, which dates back to the late 1800s. It was built by Fredrick Hedde, an entrepreneur and one of Grand Island’s founding fathers.

It was Hedde’s spirit that Anson created The Collective. Hedde saw the business potential of Grand Island more than 140 years ago. Anson sees that potential now and well into the future. And as times change, so does the way business is conducted. That is what The Collective is all about.

Anson said that, several years ago, there were co-working spaces all over the world, but not in Grand Island. To see if it would work locally, he created a small designated space above McKinney’s at 123 W. Third so he could test his idea before making a larger financial commitment.

“I thought there was a need for it,” Anson said. He saw how America’s workforce was transitioning and changing during the digital revolution, and felt a need to bring Grand Island into that new age of possibilities.

Co-working is defined as a group of people, working independently or in small groups at different jobs or projects, who assemble in a neutral space. It is not an office space in the traditional sense as many of the people are either self-employed or work for a larger company. Anson said people can rent a desk or they can rent a small office.

Over the years, co-working spaces were used by digital nomads, who traveled a lot and worked remotely, and freelancers. Co-working space also served the needs of remote entrepreneurs and remote corporate employees.

According to www.commercialobserver.com, a recent survey found that small-to-medium sized enterprises made up nearly 38% of the users of co-working spaces, and startup teams made up another 27%.

Anson said the idea is simple as the client pays a rental fee for the space, utilities and services provided, and can rent the space for a week, a month or a year.

“Hopefully, the idea is that they can grow their business and move to a bigger spot,” Anson said.

Over the years, the Hedde Building has seen many businesses come and go. In later years, it fell into disrepair as many downtown businesses moved west to the Highway 281 corridor. More than 10 years ago, Downtown Grand Island began experiencing an awaking that saw a host of new businesses — restaurants, retail, bars, the Grand Theatre, professional services, etc. — begin moving back to city’s historic area.

As more and more entrepreneurs, businessmen and developers began to reshape and breathe life back into Downtown Grand Island, they rebranded themselves Railside, which reflects Grand Island historic connection to the Transcontinental railroad built after the American Civil War. That railroad linked the East and West coasts into a growing nation.

Along with the co-working spaces, The Collective will also have several service and retail businesses. Kalon Styling Salon was the first business in the The Collective.

The space also features a small kitchenette, a conference center, classroom and other shared services.

The conference center and classroom spaces are fully wired with modern internet electronics that can be used for a variety of purposes, such as an independent podcaster who doesn’t want to invest in expensive equipment, but use the equipment Anson will have available.

The Hedde Building is also the new home of the Hall County/Grand Island Visitors and Convention Bureau and 11 upstairs apartments.

The Collective also has a pop-up shop. Pop-up retail, also known as pop-up store or flash retailing, is a trend of opening short-term sales spaces that last for days to a few weeks before closing down. The pop-up space also provides someone a temporary space to try out a idea they have for a business and give it a trial run.

Micheal Rivera of Nebraska Realty moved his operation into The Collective on July 1. He moved back from Omaha to Grand Island, his hometown, to begin a location here for the company he works for.

“I was looking for a small space and I wanted to be near the hustle and bustle of Downtown Grand Island,” Rivera said.

Rivera said he was interested in the Hedde Building as Anson made progress on it, and contacted Anson about locating his office there.

“It is a good fit,” Rivera said. “The amenities are wonderful with the conference room and classroom for bring in a client instead of using your home.”

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Robert Pore, “The Collective: A new way for individuals to work, create new businesses” The Grand Island Independent, July 19, 2020, accessed July 20, 2020,
https://theindependent.com/news/local/the-collective-a-new-way-for-individuals-to-work-create-new-businesses/article_86f1de26-c93b-11ea-9dd6-135100244351.html

Image: The Independent/Barrett Stinson

Anson transforms historic downtown Grand Island building with "collective" vision.

GRAND ISLAND, Neb — One community builder follows the footsteps of another, as Amos Anson speaks in an almost reverent tone about Fred Hedde, the man whose name is on the side of the building Anson now owns.

"He was an entreprenuer by trade, he was a risk taker, really cool, seeing how like minded Fred Hedde was and working on his building and working on what I feel he would be proud of," Anson said.

They are words that many would use to describe Anson, who has found a way to redevelop downtown Grand Island where others couldn't.

"This building would have sat as an eyesore," Anson said.

"it was unused space slowly deteriorating," said Railside Director Cara Lemburg.

With his business partner Tom Pirnie, they've turned an empty building into a centerpiece of Grand Island's Railside.

"Someone could easily say let's bulldoze it and start all over but these guys have really wanted to invest in the historic pieces in downtown," Lemburg said.

The building where the Grand Island Independent once operated now welcomes a new generation to establish their businesses.

Anson said, "For those folks that are on the edge of being an entrepreneur, going out on their own or whatever, this is a prime opportunity."

The Hedde features shops plus what Anson calls The Collective – a co-working space where he already has a salon and real estate agent, and is looking for more small business people.

"Part of the fun, it's super cool to see all of that blossom," he said of his desire to see a variety of small businesses housed under the same room.

If someone wants to rent a desk, it starts as low as $200 a month, and there are larger options too.

As Fred Hedde built Grand Island, Anson gets credit for being among the first to redevelop a downtown that was just surviving into one that's thriving.

"Still a journey ahead, but we have momentum and ability to adapt," Anson said.

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Steve White, “Anson transforms historic downtown Grand Island building with “collective” vision.” NTV News, July 1, 2020, accessed July 6, 2020,
https://nebraska.tv/news/local/anson-transforms-historic-downtown-grand-island-building-with-collective-vision