Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Kelli Hansen, the Hub
At a glance: Kelli Hansen saw a beautiful downtown building come up for sale in her hometown. She and others from Downtown Plainville, Inc. and the Plainville Community Foundation raised the funds to save the building and repurpose it to a co-working space for the community.
More information: Ron Wilson, rwilson@ksu.edu, 785-532-7690
Photos: Ron Wilson | Kelli Hansen
Website: Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development
May 1, 2024
By Ron Wilson, director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University
What is coworking? One source says that it relates to “working in a building where multiple tenants (such as entrepreneurs, start-ups or nonprofits) rent working space (such as desks or offices) and have the use of shared facilities.”
Another says: "The whole idea of coworking is to bring bright, creative people together…”
Coworking spaces have been increasingly found in larger cities. Here’s a story of a rural coworking space that is not only providing support for entrepreneurs, it is anchoring the community’s downtown business district.
Kelli Hansen is the lead volunteer who is managing the Hub, a coworking space in downtown Plainville. She grew up in Plainville and earned a business degree at Washburn University. She married her boyfriend who is also from Plainville. They embarked on their careers, but when their first son was born, they knew they wanted to move back to Plainville. They both joined the company Dessin Fournier.
At right: Kelli Hansen | Download this photo
Hansen also got very involved in volunteer activities. That led to her being elected to the city council in 2004. She served as the Mayor of the City of Plainville from 2010 to 2018.
The Hansens have three children. The oldest son graduated from K-State, the younger son is studying pre-dentistry at KU, and their daughter is in high school.
In 2018, the Hansens purchased the assets of a former division of Dessin Fournier, Palmer Hargrave Lighting. Her husband manages that business today. Hansen did contract and consulting work.
In January 2024, Hansen took the position of grassroots strategic developer for the Kansas Department of Commerce’s Office of Rural Prosperity. “I want to help communities, particularly in the western part of the state, connect with resources they need to succeed,” she said.
In downtown Plainville, a historic building had come up for sale. In the early 1900s, this building had been a clothing and general merchandise store called the Hub. Through the years, it became a donut shop and then office space, but was slated to be sold.
“It was one of the most historically significant buildings in downtown Plainville, “ Hansen said. “It was a beautiful old building and we hated the thought of it being used just for storage or underutilized.”
She and other volunteers from local nonprofit organizations Downtown Plainville, Inc. and the Plainville Community Foundation set out to save the building. Thanks to generous grants from the Dane G. Hansen Foundation and others, the building was purchased and repurposed.
In February 2022, the building opened as a coworking space. In keeping with its history and its downtown location, the facility is known as the Hub. It offers high speed Internet, semi-private office spaces, a coffee bar, and a large conference room.
“People can rent the space by the day, week, month or year as long as a community purpose is served,” Hansen said. Members have 24-7 access to the facility.
It has been used by various businesses and non-profit organizations for various purposes. There are long-term business subscribers, but pop up shops and short-term projects have also been popular.
“During the holidays, people were (back in Plainville) spending more time with family and they would come in to get some work done,” Hansen said. “That’s a benefit we hadn’t envisioned.”
In 2023, the Hub volunteers brought in a food truck and set up picnic tables for outdoor dining. “It went so well that we’re talking about how we might expand that in 2024,” Hansen said.
“It’s been really great for us,” Hansen said. “It’s been a cornerstone for our downtown which is still a vibrant business district. This brings more traffic downtown and opens up opportunities for economic development and growth.”
The Hub is described as “coworking in an innovative rural environment.” It’s great to find that in a rural community such as Plainville, population 1,709 people. Now, that’s rural.
For more information, see www.thehubplainville.com.
“The whole idea of coworking is to bring bright, creative people together…” That is certainly the case in Plainville, where Kelli Hansen and those involved with the Hub should be commended. They are making coworking work.
Audio and text files of Kansas Profiles are available at http://www.kansasprofile.com. For more information about the Huck Boyd Institute, interested persons can visit http://www.huckboydinstitute.org.
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