If you’ve been working from your kitchen table in the Shire for the past few years, you’re not alone. And if you’ve been quietly wishing for somewhere more professional to set up — without the soul-crushing commute to the city — there’s finally a decent option.

A new coworking space called Saltwater Studios has opened on Cronulla Street, just a couple of minutes’ walk from the beach. It’s occupying the first floor above what used to be a surf shop, and the fitout is surprisingly thoughtful for a space that’s not in some flashy Sydney CBD tower.

I dropped in earlier this week to see what all the fuss was about.

What’s Actually on Offer

The space has around 40 desks split between hot desks, dedicated desks, and a handful of private offices. There are two meeting rooms, a phone booth for calls, and a communal kitchen that’s a significant step up from the usual coworking kitchenette — proper coffee machine, not just a pod thing.

Monthly hot desk memberships start at $350, with dedicated desks at $550. The private offices vary depending on size but the owners quoted me between $1,200 and $2,000 per month. Day passes are $45, which isn’t cheap, but isn’t outrageous for what you get.

The internet is genuinely fast — they’ve got a dedicated business-grade fibre connection, not shared residential broadband. That might sound like a small thing, but anyone who’s tried to do a video call over their home NBN on a weekday afternoon knows the struggle.

Who’s Already There

I spoke with a few of the early members. There’s a freelance graphic designer who used to commute to Surry Hills three days a week. A small software development team of four who’d outgrown their founder’s garage in Caringbah. A financial planner who wanted a separation between home and work but didn’t want to rent a whole office.

One thing that surprised me was the number of people who said they’d previously used libraries or cafes in the area as makeshift offices. The Cronulla Library is great, but it’s not really set up for taking calls or having team meetings.

“I was driving to Miranda or going into the city two days a week just to have somewhere to work properly,” said one member who runs a marketing consultancy. “Now I can walk here from my apartment in ten minutes.”

The Bigger Picture for the Shire

This isn’t the first coworking space in the Sutherland Shire, but it’s arguably the best positioned. Being close to Cronulla Mall, the beach, and the train station means it’s accessible from most parts of the Shire without needing to drive into Miranda or further north.

There’s been a noticeable shift in how people in the area work since the pandemic. The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported last year that hybrid and remote work arrangements have become permanent for roughly 37% of Australian knowledge workers. In suburbs like ours, that means a lot of people who used to commute to the CBD every day are now looking for local alternatives.

Sutherland Shire Council has been talking about supporting local economic development for years, and spaces like this arguably do more for that than another strip of retail. When people work locally, they spend locally — lunch at the cafe down the road, coffee on the way in, groceries from Cronulla Plaza on the way home.

A Few Things to Watch

It’s early days, and coworking spaces don’t always survive their first year. The economics are tough — you need consistent occupancy to cover rent, and the Cronulla Street location won’t be cheap. Previous attempts at flexible workspace in the Shire have had mixed results.

The owners seem to understand this. They’re running events — a monthly networking breakfast, workshops on topics like small business tax planning and digital marketing — to build community rather than just renting desks. That’s smart. The coworking spaces that thrive tend to be the ones where people actually want to be, not just the ones with the cheapest rates.

They’re also offering casual meeting room hire for people who aren’t members, which could bring in extra revenue and introduce new potential members to the space.

Worth a Look

If you’re a remote worker in the Shire who’s been making do with a home office that doubles as a spare bedroom, or a small team that’s outgrown the garage, it might be worth popping in for a trial day. The location is hard to beat — you can genuinely have lunch on the beach and be back at your desk in fifteen minutes.

Whether Saltwater Studios becomes a permanent fixture in Cronulla or another short-lived experiment will depend on whether enough locals see value in paying for a workspace when they’ve got a perfectly functional dining table at home. But based on the early response, there seems to be genuine appetite for something like this in the area.

Drop-in days are available without booking. They’re open Monday to Friday, 7am to 7pm.