The Landmark is a coworking space located on Calle Hoare in Miramar, a neighborhood in San Juan named for its northward view of the ocean. The historic building offers a unique coworking experience that pairs hospitality with essential coworking office services, creating a visually stunning and supportive environment for entrepreneurs and businesses. Established in 2018 by seasoned architect and serial entrepreneur Olga Muñoz, The Landmark is as much an architectural and design feat as an entrepreneurial one.
Muñoz’s vision for The Landmark has roots in her early childhood, when she first began to express her drive for success. The founder and entrepreneur was born in Venezuela to a Puerto Rican father and a PolishVenezuelan mother and moved to the countryside in Naranjito, Puerto Rico, with her family as a young girl. “The beautiful part about that,” said Muñoz, “was walking in one of those platanaos, one of those fields, and you have the fog of the morning, you’re walking on those roads and there’s [the scent of] cundeamor, a fruit flower that grows wild in the countryside.”
In her interview with BĀSED., Muñoz expressed knowing then, as a child, that she wanted to be successful. “Since I was 8 years old I knew that I wanted A, B, C, D, education,” Muñoz said, “and I knew that it was just about hard work.” By age 29, she was a mother of three and running her first enterprise, an architecture and engineering firm called SME, along with her partner. “That was Puerto Rico during the 90s, you couldn’t find architects, you couldn’t find draftsmen, you couldn’t even find labor for construction,” Muñoz said, pointing to the early success of the venture, which ultimately grew to be the second largest architecture firm in Puerto Rico.
The building that houses The Landmark also represents a design triumph, though Muñoz didn’t design the structure. The Landmark was originally built in the 1870s to house a convent, and, according to Muñoz, has a storied history of multipurpose use. Muñoz chose the building for its rich origins and beautiful bones. “When you come in here, you can feel the magic of it,” she said. “It has served many purposes to many lives and holds many success stories.”
Muñoz used her experience as an architect and entrepreneur to set the intention of doing something special with The Landmark, by combining the comforts of Puerto Rico’s hospitality industry with the innovative services provided by modern coworking spaces. “The building itself is a landmark,” she said, “but people can also start their own mark here and establish themselves.”
Muñoz expressed the importance of believing in her vision and sharing it with a team who could offer early support. She initially shared the idea for The Landmark with investor Mark Videl, who saw the potential and supported the company from its early development. “Mark Videl is not only an investor,” Muñoz said, “he’s like a sweat equity investor, he rolls up his sleeves, will do the landscape, polish the floors, whatever.”
Mary Abrocard is The Landmark’s community manager and handles the day-to-day running of the spaces. Strategic marketer Ron Castro also offered early support, in addition to Muñoz’s son, who worked with the construction and renovation of the building; and her daughter, who provided design and color consulting for the interiors. In addition to this hands-on support, Muñoz expressed that her family played an instrumental role in shaping her career. “What impacted me most was having a family and the responsibility of a family,” she said.
“Delivering for them and being an example for them… it was about giving the best to my family with the talents that I was given.”
The sumptuously decorated space is split into two buildings; a main structure called The Convent and a smaller adjacent structure called The Abarca. The two buildings combined house a total of 60 desks. Desk prices range from $50 for a day pass to $475 a month for a dedicated space and office rentals range from $1,400 for a two person office, to $1,900 for a three person office. The Landmark also has larger offices for teams of up to14, conference rooms for meetings and workshops and virtual office services for entrepreneurs who need a mailing address. With a monthly revenue of over $24,000, the coworking space continues to evolve and expand its offerings.
Gustavo Diaz Skoff
Gustavo A. Diaz Skoff is an entrepreneur born and raised in Puerto Rico's startup ecosystem. Gustavo has over a decade of experience leading non-profit organizations, administering real estate ventures, and consulting small family-owned businesses on the island. Gustavo completed his Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration at Babson College. He serves as the president and founder of BASED.
