Excelsior Springs, Mo. — The Co-op at Shoal Creek, located in Pleasant Valley, Missouri, has built its business model on a growing reality: churches often have more space than they use. Launched in January 2024 by entrepreneurs Heather Heckroot and Bob Martin, the Co-op transforms underutilized church facilities into coworking and shared-use spaces for businesses, nonprofits, and individuals.
Heather said the concept works well in metropolitan areas, but rural communities have been largely overlooked. “If you think about coworking spaces, they’re always in downtown metropolitan areas, and that excludes everybody in a rural area,” she said. “Nobody wants to drive clear downtown for a coworker space, and since a lot of folks have moved home to work from home, I feel like we’ve forgotten about our rural neighbors. We wanted to give those folks an opportunity to have a space to work and maybe start building up bigger communities within those small businesses.”
The first Co-op location occupies part of a 55,000-square-foot building at Shoal Creek Community Church, offering flexible offices, conference rooms, event venues, and even a commercial kitchen. Membership options range from hot desks for freelancers to private offices for established companies. Amenities include high-speed internet, printing and scanning, ergonomic seating, and tech-equipped meeting spaces.
According to Martin, many churches are facing the dual challenge of declining attendance and donations, leaving buildings largely idle during the week. Heather echoed that sentiment: “Churches are the most underutilized buildings in the country right now. They sit empty six days a week typically. This gives them the opportunity to open those doors back up and bring their neighbors and community back through those doors for different reasons.”
The Pleasant Valley location has quickly filled with more than a dozen ventures, including a private school, a music and art studio, and a vehicle rental company. Each site develops its own identity. “The one thing I’ve learned about coworker spaces is every single one is going to have its own personality,” Heather said. “I try to go into it with a very open mind. We would love to see all of our small businesses come in and start together and build a community.”
Now, the Co-op is expanding to Excelsior Springs. Its second location will open inside the First United Methodist Church at 1650 Rainbow Blvd., with private offices, a commercial kitchen, and conference space. The model mirrors Pleasant Valley’s offerings but will be tailored to the community’s needs. Pastor Shannon Greene said the church began evaluating its property a year ago to explore ways it could better serve the community, and the partnership with the Co-op was a natural fit.
When asked how she’ll measure success in the first year of the Excelsior Springs site, Heather said, “The business answer is filling the space, having all of the offices full and hosting events. But Bob and I like to measure our success by how much fun we’re having and all of the people we get to meet that we may not have otherwise gotten to interact with.”
The Excelsior Springs location is expected to open later this year. For more information, please visit https://coopatshoalcreek.com/
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