The Petridish story so far...
Petridish is now a fully refurbished, 100% compliant earthquake strengthened commercial building, an achievement that has been 8 years in the making by owners Jason and Kate Lindsey. The creation of this thriving community of businesses that is Dunedin’s most successful co-working space started as a speculative purchase of a heritage building, and no inkling then of what it would become.
This was in 2014, when the couple made an offer on no. 8 Stafford St, the former Ross & Glendining textile manufacturing building which was a Victorian factory dating back to1864. Jason had been looking at it for a couple of years and he convinced his wife Kate that they should take a punt on restoring it. As the couple stood outside the day they came to look at it, Kate said "you’re crazy". But, once inside, they both realised it was an amazing building.
The idea of setting up a coworking space came soon after, starting with the fitout of the second floor and inviting a few friends to take up residency at one of the desks that looked out across the city to the Otago Peninsula. Eight years and four more levels of restoration later (as well as additional upgrades to the second floor) Petridish currently has five functioning floors of offices and individual desks, and is the workplace for close to 200 business owners, staff and remote workers – with room for some more.
where coworking space meets community
The name ‘Petridish’ plays off the idea of Culture and Growth.
The members are who make our community what it is - friendly, helpful, collaborative, inspiring and inclusive. They are from a diverse range of industries at different stages of their business journey from start-ups to established companies. Some have head offices based overseas or elsewhere in New Zealand, and Petridish makes the perfect home for a local team or remote worker to set up office and feel part of a thriving office culture.
The levels within Petridish cater to different community needs, from vibrant collaborative spaces to quiet zones and a professional penthouse setting.
Petridish also offers a number of different sized meeting rooms available both for members and for public hire, all fully equipped for video conferencing.