Pittsburgh's Beauty Shoppe turns historic buildings into cutting-edge co-working spaces

Beauty Shoppe is giving the traditional office environment a makeover.

Bucking the cubical farm layout, the organization transforms historic, yet underutilized buildings into sleek, sophisticated co-working spaces for individuals, businesses and others.

Memberships vary and can range from a standing desk located in a common area to private office suites with amenities such as high-speed Internet access, mail and package delivery, conference rooms and event spaces and printing services.

There are free coffee and snacks, too.

Carla Capone spends her weekdays at the Detective Building in East Liberty, where Beauty Shoppe occupies three floors of the former police bureau. She and three other employees work remotely for KitchenSync, a Los Angeles-based company that provides online bookkeeping and payroll for restaurants.

The mother of two used to work from her Highland Park living room, but after five years, she decided she needed a change of scenery. At first, she toiled in local coffee shops and other public venues, which resulted in either too much caffeine or not enough productivity.

Capone enjoys her time at the Detective Building. KitchenSync rents a small office on a month-to-month lease. In addition to working directly with her subordinates, she gets a chance to talk with other professionals, from accountants and freelancers to tech start-up gurus.

“It’s very helpful to talk to other people in a similar situation and to have the resources available,” she said.

Beauty Shoppe CEO Matthew Ciccone sat in a comfy chair at the Detective Building under a sign that read “Work hard and be nice to people.”

It’s a philosophy that’s gotten him far in his career.

After graduating from Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Architecture, he worked on a variety of redevelopment projects, including transforming an old YMCA that into Ace Hotel Pittsburgh, a trendy gathering place for travelers and locals alike.

At another abandoned building in East Liberty, “Beauty Shoppe” was painted on a window in gold lettering, the only indicator of the former tenant. The name stuck, even when Ciccone’s team outgrew its surroundings.

Since then, Beauty Shoppe has changed attitudes about co-working spaces as much as it’s transformed forgotten real estate.

“As people move toward freelancing and more flexible styles of work, co-working is a significant shift in the way people purchase office space,” Ciccone said. “There’s more demand, so we are opening more spaces. I don’t think that trend is going to stop.”

Beauty Shoppe currently has 500 members and grew by 150 percent in 2018. They currently have six locations in Pittsburgh with two more in the pipeline. Beauty Shoppe also expanded last year into Cleveland with Beauty Shoppe Seymour Building and announced in January a new concept in Detroit.

With a focus on hospitality and interior design, the locations are comfortable and visually appealing and often combine retail and food service.

The Detective Building, for instance, also houses a coffee shop and a Schoolhouse Electric store on the ground floor. The Portland-based company manufactures lighting fixtures and other home goods. Schoolhouse Electric bought the property several years ago. Its retro wares are located throughout the Beauty Shoppe’s offices.

On the South Side, Beauty Shoppe is part of McKnight Realty Partners’ project to revitalize the Pittsburgh Terminal Building, a century-old structure that was once the largest cargo warehouse between New York and Chicago.

Now known as The Highline, the 86,000-square-foot property will be an office and retail complex with green spaces, creative lighting, a public fitness center, bike storage and parking for 521 vehicles. Beauty Shoppe operates a café called Astroid at The Highline and is creating industrial maker spaces in the building for local artisans and craftspeople.

Beauty Shoppe members have the option of utilizing any one of the organization’s buildings.

The 100-year-old Pitt Building on Smithfield Street is Beauty Shoppe’s largest undertaking to date and its first Downtown location.

Originally the site of the Americas Club of Pittsburgh, the interior boasts stately fluted columns, ornate trim, vaulted ceilings with crown molding and one-person capacity phone rooms. Art deco elements are accented throughout.

Design Director Morgan Stewart said she was heavily influenced by the building’s history when making aesthetic decisions. She brought in Zak Kruszynski from Bones and All to create furniture and fixtures for the space, including conference tables.

Founded in 2011, the local company has put their aesthetic touch on a number of Beauty Shoppe sites, including the fabrication of work stations that include integrated desktop power and a privacy screen.

Jeff Ward can often be found at one of those desks at the Pitt Building. The engineer works for Ikos Holdings, a real estate leasing start-up.

Ward said co-working spaces make sense for small companies that might not be able to afford or make the time commitment to a commercial lease, which typically run five years.

“The space is absolutely beautiful,” he said.

Kristy Locklin is a contributing writer.