The Shop Workspace opened the doors to its new South Market location June 3, marking the coworking brand’s second footprint in New Orleans and its return to the city following national expansion into Brooklyn and Salt Lake City.

The New Orleans Downtown Development District (DDD) celebrated the opening of a new coworking space in the South Market District as The Shop officially expanded with its second Downtown New Orleans location alongside the continued growth of local technology company TrayAway.

The U.S. coworking sector consisted of 166 million square feet of space across 9,254 locations, the latest CoworkingCafe data shows.

While some long-time residents of Gowanus and the surrounding areas may shake their heads at the idea of building a neighborhood on top of the notorious canal, the efforts going into creating something unique, community-based, arts-forward and lively may sway those opinions.