— A one-of-a-kind sustainable community that includes 55,000 square feet of vibrant coworking space spanning two cities, two provinces, and providing unrivaled views of the Ottawa River and Parliament Hill—
Spaces, the Amsterdam-born creative workspace, is pleased to announce it will open two new coworking facilities in the world-class Zibi development, a new borderless community bridging Ontario and Quebec in the heart of Canada’s National Capital. Zibi is Canada’s only One Planet Living sustainable community, and the region’s largest urban redevelopment, boasting 34 acres of vibrant riverfront commercial, leisure, and residential space in the downtown cores of Ottawa and Gatineau.
Spaces plans to open the Gatineau workspace (coming in Q2 2020) just a few hundred meters from the Ottawa workspace (coming in Q4 2020), adding a total of 55,000 square feet to its already-announced Ottawa location at 66 Slater Street (coming in Q1 2020).
“Zibi is one of those once-in-a-lifetime projects that transforms cities for decades to come,” says Wayne Berger, CEO, IWG Canada and Latin America (IWG owns Spaces). “It has everything that a monumental new development should have: bold vision, historical roots, unbelievable location, cutting-edge sustainability, and the potential to redefine an entire region. Zibi is an exceptional community for our coworking brand, Spaces, to be a part of.”
More than a borderless city and a sustainability showpiece, Zibi aims to become a showcase for innovation in the sharing economy, with coliving buildings, coworking spaces, bicycle and car sharing, among others.
“These two new coworking spaces uniquely bridge creative entrepreneurs from both sides of the Ottawa River, making way for distinctive regional innovation, and a new way of working in the National Capital Region,” said Michael J. Cooper, President and Chief Responsible Officer of Dream Unlimited
As the only major flexible workspace provider in the region, Spaces, along with Regus, are part of the International Workplace Group (IWG) network of flexible workspaces. Regus currently has three locations in Ottawa. With 9.9 per cent of all jobs in Ottawa being tech-related, the city has the second highest concentration of tech talent – just behind San Francisco at 10 per cent (CBRE) — and it accounts for 26 firms on the Growth 500 ranking of Canada’s fastest-growing companies for 2019. Ottawa’s office vacancy has sunk to an eight-year low in Q2 2019, with only 6.7 per cent availability in the downtown business district. IWG and its flexible workspace brands are providing large to small businesses and entrepreneurs with dynamic and versatile workspaces in the region — and the expansive new Zibi development will be in high demand.
Spaces Zibi Gatineau
The new Spaces Zibi Gatineau offers 29,000 square feet of vibrant flexible workspace to Gatineau’s downtown. Housed in former turn of the century industrial buildings, the new coworking facility will feature beautifully rehabilitated and repurposed retail and office spaces – including design elements that honour the site’s historic and fascinating past. Located to the east of Eddy Street in Gatineau, and to the west of the welcoming Place de l’Île Philemon, the offices are separated by a four-season atrium and connected by a second-storey pedestrian bridge.
Spaces Zibi Ottawa
The new Spaces Zibi Ottawa will bring 26,000 square feet of dynamic coworking space to the city’s riverfront. The workspace will be situated in a revitalized four-storey former paper mill building located on Chaudière Island on the west side of Booth Street. To maintain the building’s industrial appeal, the existing south and east walls, as well as their first structural bays, will be retained. The Spaces offices will open onto the new Head Street Square, a vibrant public space designed to celebrate the industrial heritage of the site. As part of Zibi, these new offices will exemplify the highest green building standards for materials, water, energy and indoor air quality — a zero-carbon sustainability showpiece.
As a thriving hub for modern enterprises, Spaces has 187 locations in 54 countries. The workspace pioneer expanded into Canada in the fall of 2017 with its first location in Toronto. It continues to expand rapidly in Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, and Ottawa, and will continue its Canadian growth over the course of 2019 and beyond.
