OPINION | Revitalizing downtown Calgary, one tiny office at a time

This column is an opinion from Richard White, who has written extensively on Calgary's urban development.

WeWork, the world's leading co-working platform, recently opened two locations in downtown Calgary.

One is in The Edison (once known as the Pan Canadian building) and the other is in Stephen Avenue Place (formerly the Scotia Centre building). They are both older towers from the early 1980s that are in the process of being renovated and rebranded to attract tech sector businesses and entrepreneurs.

So, is this the beginning of the mega-transformation of Calgary's downtown that we have been waiting for? Is it the start of the diversification of the downtown economy?

I'm not sure I'm willing to go that far, but there is a certain status that comes with having WeWork in your downtown. Kinda like having a Starbucks was in the 1990s. It signifies your downtown is a hip, cool, fun place.

How WeWork works

WeWorkleases real estate space, sometimes just a floor or two in an office building, and transforms it into smaller offices and common areas.

It rents desks to individuals or groups who want the benefits of a fully stocked office without the expense and hassles of managing one.

It is not a new idea there have been shared office spaces with common reception and other amenities in downtown Calgary for decades.But they didn't have the global connections and cache of a WeWork membership.

Members include independent freelancers and remote workers who need an occasional office away from home for various reasons, or need to work in other cities when travelling for business or pleasure.

Members also include small businesses with multiple employees who need a consistent place to work, have meetings and connect with other startups and entrepreneurs, without a long-term lease commitment.

• Co-sharing office space takes over 10 floors in Calgary downtown towers

Various membership options are available, everything from a "hot desk" (a guaranteed workspace in a common location), to a desk of your own, to a standard private office. The spaces come with high-speed internet, printers, bike storage, coffee and shared front desk service.

Other amenities include office supplies, waterand daily cleaning services.

One of the big selling features is the regular social activities organized to encourage networking with other WeWork members.

WeWork pioneered the co-work and"as you need it" approach to office space leasing that promotes a collaborative culture and the flexibility to work globally. It claims it has more than 662,000 memberships in 740 locations in 140 cities in 37 countries.

When I was in London this past December, I noticed there are literally hundreds of co-work spaces in buildings of all shapes and sizes in the City Centre. Many of them are at street level, with colourful cafes and lounges visible from the road, making for an enhanced pedestrian experience.

I learned at The Edison opening that there are plans to convert the lobby into a fun cafe/bistro experience.And there are plans to convert the main floor of Stephen Avenue Place into an urban playground of restaurants, bars, lounges and cafes.

Both of Calgary's WeWork sites occupy five floors. The Stephen Avenue site is 65,670 square feet with 1,259 desks. The Edison's 1,274 desks occupy 75,539 square feet. This averages out to about 55 square feet per desk, which is a far cry from the old oil and gas model of 200-plus square feet per employee.

The new workplace

WeWork exemplifies how young entrepreneurs and startup companies work today.

The goal is to create spaces that offer people different ways to interact, without dictating how to use that space.

A large common area can quickly turn into an event space. Someone who prefers to work quietly can tuck themselves away in a booth or private conference room. Others might choose to work in a traditional office space, but it's unlikely they'll stay there for the whole day when presented with so many additional ways to engage with their peers.

It is all about networking. Nobody sits at their desk all day anymore.Nobody has a set coffee break or lunch time.

Todays' startup companies aren't interested in renting small offices in dumpy old buildings at the west end of downtown or in the Beltline. They want swanky new spaces that are more like an office playground, where they can mix and mingle with the other kids in the neighbourhood.

They want bars and restaurants right outside their door. They don't want parking spaces, they want to be near transit and have secure bike parking.

Other downtown news

WeWork isn't the only new kidin Calgary's downtown.

Absorb Software, a Calgary-based technology company with offices around the world, announced it will be moving from Inglewood into 80,000 square feet of space in the new Telus Sky tower.

Considering Telus is the anchor tenant, and given the iconic design of the building, it is not too big a stretch to imagine this building will become a tech hub for downtown. Ironically, WeWork looked at leasing space in Telus Skybut rejected it.

Finger Food Advanced Technology Group, based in Port Coquitlam, B.C., has signed a lease for the entire fourth floor of Brookfield Place (25,000 square feet) that ultimately will be home for 200 employees working in the fields of augmented and virtual reality. They were enticed to move to Calgary by a $3.5-million grant from the city's Opportunity Calgary Investment Fund.

Pureweb, another Calgary-based tech company, recently subleased 30,000 square feet from Cenovus in the historic 1911 Telephone Building at 119 Sixth Ave. S.W.

It's all a sure sign Calgary's downtown is slowly evolving to accommodate the tech sector.

Last word

The transformation of downtown Calgary from huge oil and gas head offices that are 250,000-plus square feet each, to one filled by tech startups won't happen overnight.

Filling the empty 10-million square feet of office space will require hundreds of new companies moving in.

• Four downtown Calgary office buildings, including old Nexen tower, sit empty

In the old days, the annual office absorption rate was about 500,000 square feet per year, but that was when companies leased 200-plus square feet for each employee. The new reality is less than 100 square feet per employee, which means twice as many people fit into the same space.

It could easily take over 10 years for Calgary's downtown office space to return to a healthy seven per cent vacancy rate.And probably even longer for the value of downtown office buildings to return to their peaks of 2014.

This column is an opinion. For more information about our commentary section, please read thiseditor's blogandour FAQ.