Free Range Office

This is the first negative review I’ve ever written, and this only pertains to the co-​working component, not the event space.
That being said, this was unequivocally the worst co-​working experience I’ve ever had.
1. The place is freezing (and old) — if you go in, notice how many people are wearing jackets.
2. In 5 months being there, the printer was non functional between 5 – 10 times.
3. There is an event there +50% weekend days, so if weekend work is important to you, this is not a good option.
4. The light in there is terrible. On beautiful summer days, the windows are wonderful. For the other 5 months of the year when Chicago is dark, this place is extremely dark.
5. There is coffee, but only if you want to brew it yourself with a frenchpress
6. On busy days, unless you come in before 9:30, there may be about 2 – 3 seat options available in the entire space.
7. All of the hookups for presenting in the conference room are in a locked cabinet. The staff can open this for you, but I needed this on 3 separate occasions when the staff were not there.
The pricing on this place for an open office was the cheapest, so I expected some things, but the pricing went up and there are now cheaper or similarly priced options with far higher quality.
This place may be worth checking out if you live in the neighborhood, but I’d ask questions about availability before signing a contract. Good luck!

I’ve worked at a lot of coworking spaces and this one is one of my favorites. It’s full of hardworking people, great internet, and friendly staff, but also super casual. Also, the owner Liane is super friendly and very helpful in getting folks connected at the space.
Only reason for not 5 stars is they do have quite a lot of events scheduled on Saturdays, which sometimes makes working there not very practical. However, price point is very competitive, so still a good deal.
Definitely recommend!

I have found coworking to be a great way to network and add flexibility to my work week. The space offers several private offices for rent as well as desks and tables with plenty of natural light, free coffee and all the staff are fantastic. Also price is great without having to sign a long contract.

My now-​husband and I staged our wedding at FREO back in March, and we couldn’t have been happier with everything that Liane and her amazing staff provided us! The space provided the exact atmosphere we wanted: offbeat, spacious enough for our smallish ceremony and reception, and, above all else, fun. It really felt like a big house party. (Perfect for the budget-​conscious couple, too.) Liane is the absolute best and was incredibly accommodating – highly recommend this space.

I wandered upon Free Range thanks to Unilocal!
After weeks and weeks of searching for an affordable venue to host a baby shower, I read several positive reviews about this place. Free Range is the perfect venue — it has large windows (which provides amazing natural lighting), a kitchen, wi-​fi, speaker system, chairs, tables, and the price is undeniable.
Liane and I communicated often with great ease. She was very accommodating. An assistant was available the day of the party, and she definitely went beyond her duties assisting with setup and decoration input. she was a godsend.
I would definitely use this place for hosting any small to med-​sized events, and I would recommend you do as well

Free Range has been a life saver these past six months. As an extrovert who works remotely, I get stir crazy working the entire week in my apartment. I tried out a few other shared space options, but overall Free Range was easily the best option due to the fantastic location, helpful staff (Liane is great), and competitive price. I highly recommend Free Range to anyone looking for a great working environment away from home.

I hosted my baby shower here at Free Range Office back in March 2014. I loved the fact that they had a full kitchen where my father in law can cook and I love the counter space! Natural lighting was a plus as well! A young lady by the name of Ruby was very helpful and accommodating that I requested her for my daughters 1^st birthday last week! The owner Liane, was very understanding and helpful throughout the whole process! I highly recommend this space for your next event!

I’ve been at free range for about 8 months now. It’s been fantastic. We were looking for a place that i could work since my home office was being replaced by a tiny baby.
I was trying to balance cost, accessibility, and perks when picking a coworking space. FREO is open to all comers (not a given, as many coworking spaces in the area require you be in a startup, or work in a certain industry) and it’s competitive cost-​wise with other places throughout the city. There are several options as far as floating desk, reserved desk (what I went with), shared office, or solo office. The prices change accordingly, but are reasonable. I’d say that even if you went with a floating desk you can get basically the same spot every day if you’re on a regular schedule. I also found it easy to leave some items at the space overnight to avoid lugging them back and forth.
Liane, the owner, is very flexible and willing to work with you on whatever you need. Almost every coworking space has wifi, but few are able to figure out a way to give you a wired line without getting an office (and spending much more). FREO didn’t originally have a solution for me, but Liane worked it out almost immediately and I was able to plug my VOIP phone into a wired line, which was great. It’s a small detail, but definitely part of what convinced me FREO was the right option. Further, my wife was able to swap with me when she needed a place to work and I was out of town or otherwise not in the office, so that was nice.
There’s a large conference room with some A/​V perks should you need to use it. It’s probably available at least 50−60% of the time, so it isn’t much of an issue getting access.
They have complimentary Keurig coffee and tea, and there’s a refrigerator and a large cook top should you want to use that. I haven’t cooked at all there, but should you bring something along you definitely have sufficient resources to make most anything. That said, you never need to cook should you choose, as the location is near many good lunch options in Wicker Park/​Bucktown, and as yet another added perk those places are not busy during the week, which makes getting lunch on your own or with friends really easy. I was initially looking to commute to downtown to be part of the hustle and bustle, but staying in the Wicker Park area meant that I have more time to focus on work and can make a lunch break focused mostly on «lunch» and «break» rather than waiting in line or getting to and from places.
One drawback is that the space is open with older flooring. So, on occasion it can get loud (ish). That said, part of why I wanted to be in a coworking space was to have some sound and life around me. Also, there are nooks throughout where you can sit if you want to hide away from people. By no means did I find the other conversations distracting enough to stop me from being effective at work. I know that others use headphones in the event it is too noisy.
There are multiple «levels» of sitting area among the open desks. So, should you want to stand or sit you have tabletops that accommodate both. There are two wifi signals in the area and I’ve found both to be plenty fast even over a VPN to an office in Texas.
Every week or so there is a spread of treats or lunch or smoothies for all members to have. It’s a nice community perk and worth being there on those days.
All in all, FREO is a wonderful coworking space and I’ve been terrifically happy working there. So, if you’re looking for a coworking space, in particular near Bucktown/​Wicker Park, this is the place to go!

My husband and I worked with Free Range to organize a cooking class for some out of town clients. Lianne was very helpful and detail oriented which made the planning process a breeze. The space itself was great, plenty of room for 30+ people to spread out and cook, plus lots of room for guests to sit down to dinner. We look forward to working with them in the future and would recommend them to anyone looking for a cool, versatile, space.

Free Range Office is a cozy workspace on North Avenue just west of the Damen blue line stop. It’s got an open floor plan and a full kitchen. The owner of the space has been kind enough to let us host our Food Tech Meetup there and we couldn’t be happier. It receives lots of natural light and the conference table is the perfect size for our up and coming group.

I enjoy using the space at Free Range Office… feels like home!
This is a unique space for both co-​working and events. Very spacious and cozy as well. The members at Free Range are always polite and respectful towards each other. The owner/​manager, Liane is courteous and willing to help the members/​guests when needed. She offers wonderful hospitality here as well.
I recommend this space to anyone looking for a co-​working area or for their next event. It amazes me how the space transforms for each event that takes place here. Plenty of room for your guests to enjoy themselves.

I worked here for the past 3 months as I finished writing my dissertation (remotely). It increased my productivity and was a nice break from coffee shops. Sometimes conversations/​phone calls in the shared space were distracting but easily solved with headphones.
The space is great with tons of light and I was always able to have my own desk. I frequented the great dining options nearby for lunches. If you need to get out of your home office this is the place!

Free Range Office is a great place to work if you want the ‘coworker’ experience while still working solo. It’s great for groups too! The atmosphere is a perfect blend of professionalism and social comradery all under one roof. Whether you prefer the ultra-​private ‘Do Not Disturb’ work zone, or working at an individual workstation in a sea of others, there’s a place for you here and Liane will make sure she has a spot that fits your needs! She is absolutely wonderful to work with and is willing to arrange, and rearrange, areas of the room to accommodate you and/​or your party to the best that availability will allow! There’s even 2 phone booths that allow you to take private calls without the feeling that everyone is listening in while they work away. Definitely try Free Range Office!

Another review to confirm the very poor business practices here. I highly recommend taking your business elsewhere.
February — sent email inquiry to get details and information on space
March 8^th — Finally managed to connect via phone, but communication was still not clear as Lian (owner) was unable to answer my questions. Communication moved to email
March 11^th — email communication was sent to Lian to clarify space availability and details
March 13 — another follow up email sent to Lian since no response was received, which was then promptly responded to. Last email was sent with additional questions.
March 26 — questions from previous email were never responded to so another email was sent to Lian for a response and to request a visit to view the space.
March 27 — Lian responds and an in person meeting has been set.
April 12 — went to meet Lian and view the space. Meeting was extremely frazzled. I felt as if I was intruding and despite the communication back and forth for over the past month, I was already running thin on patience in fostering a professional partnership. While there during my much anticipated meeting and tour of the space, folks were setting up for a baby shower, a cake delivery arrived early and was awaiting payment from the party hostess, her phone was ringing every so often, and Lian was juggling dealing with everyone so naturally, it was not a very focused first in person impression. My experience in just communication alone via phone and email was ineffective and with often delayed responses. As a result of the meeting, I opted to choose another space which was far more attentive, professional and better suited. If my clients were treated in the same manner as I did during my visit to meet the owner, there’s no question I would take business elsewhere. The kicker is that I drove OVER AN HOUR to visit this place (from the IL/​WI border) on top of the DELAYED COMMUNICATION RESPONSES the month prior to this meeting. Apparently there was no consideration of this, my time and my effort to provide a professional meeting.
In an attempt to give this place a second chance (despite what I have already negatively experienced), I reached out to Lian again requesting space rental info for a client.
July 17 — sent Lian a message requesting information and expressing my disappointment in our initial meeting.
To this day — over a month later — no response from Lian.
Based on the business practices this place provides, I would not recommend my clients to use/​visit this space. Thankfully I’ve found a much better space to use that has attentive, professional owners where I recommend clients for ongoing business.

I am a playwright and I have been utilizing Free Range office space for about two months now. I love it. The space is warm, inviting and set up in a way that allows me to be productive without feeling like I can’t be creative.
Liane, the owner, is incredibly helpful, kind and incredibly accommodating due to some of the weird hours I tend to work.
I highly recommend this space to anyone who, like me, tends to be more productive outside of the home.

If you need a space to get some work done and in a good location, Free Range is pretty awesome. It’s right off the blue-​line and easy to walk to which might be important if you want clients to meet you there without driving. It has a large kitchen space which is great for hosting parties. The vibe is pretty relaxed and the neighborhood is great. it’s nice to get away from doing work at coffee shops.

We hosted our baby shower here.
The location is in the heart of Wicker Park– easily accessible by car or public transit.
The space is simply stunning, with lots of windows letting in plenty of natural light, beautiful high ceilings and freshly painted white walls. It was easy to transform it from a workspace into an elegant and serene venue by adding high boys, linens, flower arrangements, balloons, and a few other personal touches. We were able to fit approximately 70 guests very comfortably, and the acoustics were great for our DJ and live band.
The owner, Liane, was very accommodating. She reserved our preferred date for us, she maintained communication with our event planner, and she allowed us access to the venue the evening before the event to setup, which was extremely helpful.
We were very grateful that we were able to reserve the space for a Sunday afternoon, when street parking would be free. Our guests had no difficulty finding the location or parking, and many commented on how beautiful the venue was.
Oh, and there are several bathrooms– all of them clean and well equipped for your guests (when I was looking at other venues, I noticed that is not always the case, but it’s so important– so I wanted to be sure to mention it here).
If you’re looking for a space to host your next event, be sure to check this one out. You won’t be disappointed :)

I work out of my house and am always surprised how productive I am when I work from FREO for a day. Its comfortable and quiet. I have met some interesting people while working from there. I highly recommend it

I have been working from Free Range Office for a few weeks and my experience has been great. I’ve met some very interesting people, from different industries, doing awesome work. It’s a fun and friendly environment. Liane has also been wonderful. She made herself available to meet with me a few times and show me the space, so I could make an informed decision. In addition, she worked with me to create a custom plan that’s best for me and the non-​profit I work for.
The free coffee, free printing and convenient location are an excellent bonus to an already top notch co-​working space.

Very poor business practices. I recommend taking your business elsewhere.
I was excited for an office nearby that rents hourly space, as I am beginning a private practice, while working a full time job. I contacted free range office to inquire about the space and set up a tour. Liane returned my call and email promptly, and we eventually worked out a time to meet (this took several days to set up, as Liane did not seem to have a lot of availability). In the course of this back-​and-​forth, I told Liane the hours of my full time job.
I was able to set up a tour with her, and I met her at the space, where she gave me a tour and showed me the private office. I told her I would prefer it on the weekends, and she said that would be fine. I then emailed my client to let her know we would soon be able to meet– she agreed to my rate, and told me her availability. I then emailed Liane to let her know I would like to rent the office, and would it be available on a certain weekend. I did not get a reply. After a few days, I texted her. She finally responded to my email a full week after I’d sent it, stating that she had decided not to rent the space on weekends, and to let her know if I had times during the week that would work. I immediately emailed back with 2 days and times that would work during the week. 2 days later, she responds, stating that the office is only available between 11 – 2 certain days, and she is sorry because she doesn’t think that will work for me. So, now, it’s well over a week since I let my client know I had an office space, and I don’t. Liane and Free Range Office has put me in a very bad position, and I may actually lose this client because of it.