The former Chromastat Inc. building east of downtown Spokane has been updated and converted into offices designed to appeal to entrepreneurs and others who might desire virtual, drop-in, part-time, or culturally diversified coworking space.

Bernadette Pillar, a broker with Keller Williams Realty, says she is collaborating with building owners Nick Bruck and Gloria Ochoa on the nontraditional office space project at 725 E. Third, where the offices already have been largely furnished. As part of the makeover, which also included some exterior painting and landscaping work, the building has been renamed the Third Ave. Plaza, Pillar says.

The lower floor of the two-level, 3,000-square-foot building has a reception area, four regular leasable offices, a drop-in media center, and a small conference room. The upper floor also has a lobby, plus five regular leasable offices, two offices designed for shared use, another drop-in media center, and a larger conference room, she says.

Pillar, who has her own real estate business named Bernadette Pillar Real Estate at Keller Williams, says she has moved into the building to serve as executive director and site manager. Ochoa, an attorney who operates a solo law practice, also has moved into the building, and another tenant, whom Pillar declined to identify, is scheduled to move in on March 1, she says.

A website has been set up at thirdaveplaza.com to help market the building. Examples of the types of professionals that might be well-suited for coworking environments include insurance agents, attorneys, Web developers, photographers, travel agents, software application builders, and event planners, the website says.

Coworking involves bringing together people typically not employed by the same organization, but who desire the social aspects, creative energy, and cost savings of a shared working environment.

A virtual office would be suited for someone who perhaps just needs a business mailing address and perhaps personalized phone service, but not actual working space, the website says, and Pillar says drop-in space is intended for people who typically need an office space for only a certain number of hours a month. Lease rates will vary depending on a tenant's or user's needs, she says.

Chromastat was a longtime photo lab here that closed its doors about two years ago.