The first thing you notice when you walk into The Roundhouse isn’t the historic architecture or even the floor-to-ceiling windows that flood the space with natural light. It’s the energy.
OneValley is a global entrepreneurship platform for individuals, startups, and corporations seeking innovation and accelerated growth. We provide a highly curated and immersive experience through our innovation centers, enterprise services, and OneValley Passport, the world’s most comprehensive online innovation platform.
For Blazincic and her colleague Megan Yelley, Community and Sales Director, as well as Innovation Coordinator Allison Popieski, The Roundhouse isn’t just about filling offices and desks. It’s about building something bigger: a place where startups, remote workers, and nonprofits collide in the best possible way.
“People come in and see the open-concept space and say, ‘How do I have meetings here?’” she says. “But once they’re in the space, they hear other people on calls, they see meetings happening, and they realize it works. The diversity of work styles is actually a benefit.”
The other thing that sells people? The community. “We always say, we love our people,” Yelley adds. “When we have member events — happy hours, lunches, networking events—you see the connections happening in real time. That’s the magic.”
OneValley uses the term “ecosystem” often. And while “ecosystem” and “community” might seem interchangeable, Blazincic sees them differently.
“Community is what’s inside the ecosystem,” she explains. “The Roundhouse is more than just our members. It’s the plants, the vibe, the maintenance team that fixes things fast, the coffee, the snacks. It’s everything working together.”
Yelley agrees. “The ecosystem is all the different cogs of the machine. The community is the product.”
One of the things that makes The Roundhouse different is how intentional Blazincic and Yelley are about creating opportunities for members to connect.
“We’re starting industry-highlight happy hours,” Yelley says. “We noticed we have a lot of members in education and a lot in science. So we’re creating events where people in the same industry can share their mission, talk about what they’re working on, and invite their networks. It’s a way to expand connections beyond just our members.”
They’re also launching a CEO roundtable. “We have 19 CEOs in the space,” Blazincic says. “Bringing them together to talk about their challenges and support each other is going to be huge.”
The Roundhouse is fully booked when it comes to private offices. The waitlist speaks for itself. But filling the coworking area desks? That’s a bit tougher.
“We’ve kind of plateaued on desk memberships,” Blazincic admits. “Now it’s one in, one out. We need to get those numbers up.”
The issue? Location. The Roundhouse sits in Hazelwood Green, an area in transition and growing, but not as well known. “Right now, it’s just us and one other building,” Yelley says. “Development is happening, and in a few years, it will be busier. But until then, we have to work harder to get people in the door.”
They’re focusing on community outreach — going to networking events, talking to local businesses, offering free coworking days. “Once people come in and experience it, they get it,” Yelley says. “It’s just about getting them here in the first place.”
Coworking spaces exist at the intersection of real estate, office space, and hospitality. At The Roundhouse, hospitality is key.
“Our members feel comfortable coming to us with anything,” Yelley says. “Before this call, someone came to us and said, ‘I hear a weird sound.’ We checked it out, and yeah, it was annoying. We got maintenance on it immediately. People appreciate that attentiveness.”
For Blazincic, it’s about making people feel welcome. “The space needs to be clean. The amenities need to be good. If someone is being disruptive, we address it. We want people to rave about their experience here.”
Managing The Roundhouse requires a reliable platform that helps streamline memberships, bookings, and invoicing. That’s where Coworks comes in.
“Coworks is very user-friendly,” Blazincic says. “Our members never really seem to have an issue with it. It does what we need it to do.”
OneValley is a tech-forward organization, and while they have their own digital platform, they chose Coworks for managing The Roundhouse because it was built specifically for coworking spaces.
“Passport OS, our OneValley platform, is a B2B product,” Blazincic explains. “Rather than use resources to build something for us internally, we found Coworks already did exactly what we needed.”
Yelley appreciates that Coworks integrates both the member experience and the administrative side. “What we use to manage invoicing, calendars, and bookings is the same system our members use. That makes it easy to explain and troubleshoot if needed.”
There are always ways to improve, of course, and the Roundhouse team is proactive about sharing feedback. “It’s great that we can talk directly with the team,” Blazincic says. “They really listen, and that makes a huge difference.”
This year, Blazincic and Yelley are focused on growth. More members. More events. More community.
“We want to get more company off-sites and retreats here,” Blazincic says. “It’s a productive space, but it also feels like an oasis. People get a lot done here.”
Yelley is excited about outreach. “Hazelwood Green is getting more attention. Development is happening. We want to make sure people know The Roundhouse is here, that we were one of the first in this space, and that we’re an essential part of what’s happening in Pittsburgh.”
And if you’re in the area? You should probably check it out. The beer is cold, the coffee is strong, and the vibe? It’s protected.