Amanda Lewan

After Lauren Walker of Coworks teamed with Jerome Chang and Jackie LaTragna for February’s event, why did Amanda Lewan at Bamboo raise her hand for hosting this August?

The reason is simple: because it matters. Community-builders need community and nobody understand what operators are doing like OTHER operators.

Matthew Gira shares a fascinating look at Bamboo‘s founding story, from a $5k loan over 200,000 sqft of coworking space under management.

Fascinating to learn more about Amanda Lewan and the team’s early coworking story.

Amanda Lewan from Bamboo joined the Flex Uncensored podcast to discuss everything from humble beginnings, Craigslist, growing beyond Detroit, their strategy for operating AND managing, a 115k sqft school conversion and public-private partnerships.

Amanda Lewan announced Bamboo‘s fifth location at The Jefferson Hub, a historic school in Detroit developed by Invest Detroit in partnership with Ferlito Group, where Bamboo will serve as program and property manager.

The 115k-sqft innovation and office space opens in September 2025, featuring team suites for 500-10k sqft, shared kitchens, training rooms, conference rooms, and on-site parking for mission-based nonprofits, startups, and growing teams. Bamboo will also operate a coworking space inside the building’s former gymnasium, with members gaining access to amenities in the building and Jefferson Hub tenants receiving access to all Bamboo locations.

Amanda Lewan shared that Bamboo are partnering with Midwest House and Start Garden for their new location in downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Bamboo received a $1.25M grant + a $2.4M loan from the start to renovate the building that previously housed Urban Institute for Contemporary Art gallery and movie theater. A big vote of support for the team that are looking to re-open the theatre, add coworking to "foster community and create density, serving as a central welcoming place for technologists, founders, and organizations to collaborate together."