Creative workspace company Spaces will open its two largest North American co-working locations, totalling almost 250,000 square feet, in Toronto and Vancouver.

The Well in Toronto, being developed by RioCan and Allied REITs. (Rendering courtesy The Well Toronto)

The slightly larger of the two locations will be in The Well, a mixed-use development under construction at 460 Front St. W. in Toronto. Spaces The Well is expected to open in 2022.

Spaces West Georgia will be in the uniquely designed 400W. Georgia when it opens in Vancouver in 2021.

“Spaces The Well will provide over 127,000 square feet and Spaces West Georgia over 120,000 square feet of collaborative workspaces, with the modern Dutch-inspired interior Spaces is known for,” said Wayne Berger, the chief executive officer of IWG Canada and Latin America.

“Like our other locations, there will be multiple collaborative areas, team rooms, phone booths, dedicated co-working spaces, meeting rooms and fully furnished private offices.”

IWG owns Spaces, which originated in Amsterdam, The Netherlands and now has 137 locations in 30 countries and 94 cities around the world. It opened its first Canadian location in November at 180 John St. in Toronto and is expanding rapidly in major markets across the country.

“Ultimately, the future of work is going to be all about flexibility and to help businesses be more agile,” said Berger. “When these two new Spaces open by 2022, there will be fewer and fewer large HQ office buildings downtown, and more and more remote workers, entrepreneurs and large corporations looking to embrace a better way of working.

“The demand for the kind of space we’re offering is massive and it is only growing. We need these large locations in both the Toronto and Vancouver markets to fulfill the growing needs of the way Canadians want to work.”

Spaces The Well, Spaces West Georgia

Spaces The Well will offer an expansive third-floor terrace and an exclusive rooftop patio on the sixth floor of the building.

The Well complex will have a 7.8-acre footprint just west of Spadina Avenue with two office buildings encompassing more than one million square feet of space. There will be 1,800 residential units spread throughout six buildings, along with a pedestrian courtyard and more than 500,000 square feet of retail space. The Well is a joint development between Allied Properties REIT (AP-UN-T) and RioCan REIT (REI-UN-T).

“Spaces had to be a part of this new community that The Well is going to bring to Toronto,” said Berger. “The design of the building is focused on community and creativity, and that’s exactly what Spaces is all about.”

Allied is partnering with Westbank Corp. in developing 400W. Georgia, which will feature living walls, glass floors, operable windows, a number of patios with excellent views, a two-storey landscaped rooftop terrace and a fresh air lobby designed to resemble a rain forest.

The 400W. Georgia design firm, OSO Architecture & Interior Design, is doing the interior design for Spaces West Georgia.

Other Spaces openings in Canada

The 17,000-square-foot Spaces Yorkville in Toronto and the 35,000-square-foot Spaces Gastown in Vancouver opened earlier this month.

“As soon as we opened the doors, each location was bustling with activity — from our offices to the business clubs,” said Berger. “To be honest, we can’t open Spaces fast enough.”

The 30,000-square-foot Spaces Mile End opened in May 2017 and there are plans to open four more Spaces locations in the city.

The 70,000-square-foot Spaces Granville and 40,000-square-foot Spaces Mount Pleasant will open early next year in Vancouver. Spaces North York and Spaces Liberty Village will open in the spring in Toronto.

“We are already filling these locations with clients,” said Berger. “We can’t keep up with the demand.”

IWG’s Regus brand also growing

IWG is the world’s largest workspace provider. It also owns the Regus co-working space brand, which has more than 3,000 locations in approximately 900 cities and 120 countries.

Regus is also expanding in Canada and will open new centres in Calgary, Halifax and Kitchener, Ont. in October.

“We are growing in Canada non-stop and announcing new deals all the time,” said Berger. “We are not slowing down any time soon.”