The Factory In Collingswood Offers Businesses A Unique Community Work Space

COLLINGSWOOD, N.J. (CBS) - There's a space in Collingswood, New Jersey where you'll find a community of small businesses. From artisans to entrepreneurs, they're all working under one roof.

Tom Marchetty brings centuries-old Pennsylvania trees back to life.

"Probably about a 350-year-old sycamore tree," Marchetty said. "It's got a lot of character and it's solid as a rock."

Custom furniture is Marchetty's game, and The Factory in Collingswood, Camden County is his playground.

"This is where we do all the wood and metal work," Marchetty said. "Table saws, joiners, band saws, pretty much anything you can imagine to build or make anything. Probably 90 percent of the machines we're using came out of a factory in Philly."

The Factory's name is a nod to that. As for the building, it's big enough to be a former factory but the space is actually the old movie theater on Fern Avenue.

Touches of the 1920s are still visible everywhere, but Marchetty doesn't work in this massive space by himself. He actually shares the factory with 22 other businesses.

"People that just need a home office, or they're creative start-ups or young entrepreneurs," he said.

A very 21st-century mission that started out of necessity. A big building means big bills.

"And together, we're able to make this work," he said.

Revolution Coffee Roasters knows that perhaps best.

"This has afforded us our growth," Stephen McFadden, from Revolution Coffee Roasters, said.

McFadden started in a back room simply roasting coffee.

"Fifteen pounds at a time, 750 pounds to 1,000 pounds of coffee every week," he said.

Now, he has a coffee shop, too, and a built-in customer base.

Just steps away, there are offices for a music teacher, headquarters for Sabrina's Café and many more.

The Factory is at full capacity, and Marchetty's main space even plays double duty.

"It's a woodshop by day and an event space by night," Marchetty said.

Hosting everything from weddings to fundraisers, making The Factory in Collingswood the perfect place to live, work and play.

"I actually stopped going to Philly," Marchetty said. "I barely venture over the bridge anymore because I'm always doing something here."