Today we’d like to introduce you to Annie DeFrees.
Hi Annie, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Beacon House is a 100-year-old building nestled in the heart of the Beacon Hill neighborhood, just north of downtown San Antonio. In 2017, The Park Community Church was generously gifted this charming building and renovated it to create a multi use space that is perfect for coworking, events, meetings, or seminars. Both coworkers and event rentals have access to kitchenettes on both floors of the building, free Wi-Fi, private meeting rooms, flexible large group spaces, virtual meeting capabilities, and audio/visual equipment. The building is full of natural light and historical character and charm.
Beacon House is also the home to a suite of licensed professional counselors who welcome clients in a safe, private area of the building. We understand the importance of mental health but know that seeking counseling can sometimes be cost-prohibitive. To ease this burden, we are proud to use a portion of the profits generated from coworking and event rental fees to create a scholarship fund that can be used to offset counseling costs.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Having multiple functions for one building can definitely be a challenge. Between coworkers, counselors and event schedules, it’s been tricky to figure out how all of these different endeavors work together. It took us some time to figure out how everyone’s individual needs fit together in one space, but we are so thankful they do! Counselors and coworkers have priority during the work week, and events take the spotlight on nights and weekends.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
We offer counseling services, coworking and private office rental space and host small events! Profits from our events go towards a scholarship fund for those that need mental health services but can’t afford it. That is the heartbeat of our building! We have a wonderful cohort of about 8 counselors who each have their own private practice but love to support one another.
Event wise, we specialize in baby and wedding showers, birthday and retirement parties, rehearsal dinners, small weddings and corporate meeting or workshops! We are so proud of our building and all the historical charm it has. It oozes with character and natural light. Our clients love it because it is such a beautiful, simple background for their special event. We provide furniture and tables and chairs, but the client has the ability to make everything else their own and bring in whatever decor and vendors they choose to, make it a more affordable option for smaller parties. Our events staff is friendly, professional and accommodating.
What’s next?
We hope to continue to grow our counseling center throughout our building to reach more people throughout San Antonio with mental health services. We also hope to continue to grow our scholarship fund as we book more and more events! We would also love to host more community events at Beacon House!
Pricing:
- $175 for open desk membership
- $300 for dedicated desk membership
- $200 per hour for event rental
Contact Info:
- Website: https://beaconhousesa.org
- Instagram: @beaconhousesa
