Affordable Scaffolding Alternative – A new scaffolding manufacturer, Shed Innovations, aims to compete with Urban Umbrella by making a better looking scaffolding than traditional ones, but at half the price.
SHED, as the company is known, claims that its new scaffolding can provide an aesthetically pleasing alternative to sidewalk sheds found throughout New York City, which tend to be made of metal pipes and wooden boards. SHED also says its sheds come in at least 50 percent cheaper than rival Urban Umbrella.
Its founders, a Manhattan real estate heir and an executive at a private equity firm, claim their product can be erected two and a half times faster and with 40 percent fewer workers than traditional scaffolding systems. The new firm, which recently raised $1.2 million in seed funding, unveiled its product Tuesday at a proptech conference and hopes to start shipping it early next year.
“SHED is introducing a cutting-edge, cost-effective scaffolding solution that will reshape the industry by improving the experience for businesses, pedestrians and the city,” Steven Manocherian and Marco Libani, the co-founders of SHED, said in a joint statement. “Our innovative scaffolding is the first of its kind — it assembles faster, requires less manpower and uses fewer materials — all while ensuring our public spaces remain vibrant and welcoming to foot traffic.”
The city has struggled with long-term sidewalk sheds obcsuring the sidewalks for years because of Local Law 11, which mandates facade work and a cycle of exterior inspections once every five years for mid-rise New York City buildings. Urban Umbrella was founded in 2009 hoping to offer a better looking option with curved, white metal supports holding up its sheds, according to its website. The company raised $6.5 million in venture debt funding last year.
However, Urban Umbrella is quite pricey, charging $45,000 to install a 200-foot-long shed and another $5,000 a month in rent, Crain’s New York Business reported in 2021.