Spaces opens its first Vancouver co-working office in Gastown (PHOTOS)

Inside Spaces' new co-working location at 151 West Hastings Street, Vancouver. (Spaces)

A newly rebuilt building immediately adjacent to Simon Fraser University’s Woodwards campus on the edge of Gastown is now home to Spaces’ first co-working office location in Vancouver.

The Amsterdam-based workspace company’s newest location at 151 West Hastings Street, a 1900-built building owned by Century Group, opened earlier this month. The retrofit was designed by B+H Architects, and it retains the building’s Romanesque exterior on West Hastings Street and creates a contemporary geometric look for the rear facing Woodwards.

The building at 151 West Hastings Street, Vancouver that houses Spaces’ new co-working location. (Spaces)

Inside Spaces’ new co-working location at 151 West Hastings Street, Vancouver. (Spaces)

Spaces occupies 35,000 sq. ft. over five levels, with interiors that are Dutch-design inspired and complete with large collaborative areas, team rooms, phone booths, dedicated co-working spaces, fully-equipped meeting rooms, and furnished private offices.

Amenities for co-working tenants include a Kafka’s Coffee & Tea location, games on every floor such as Giant Jenga and foosball, and a large outdoor rooftop patio with furniture and views of the city, harbour, and mountains.

The rooftop amenity space of Spaces’ new co-working location at 151 West Hastings Street, Vancouver. (Spaces)

“Spaces is redefining the way work is done, providing a contemporary, social and inspirational environment with a focus on community,” said Martijn Roordink, co-founder of Spaces, in a statement.

“Vancouver is a prime location for our Canadian growth due to the city’s incredible demand for contemporary and unique office spaces. Today, we’re opening the doors to our first creative working environment in Gastown, and we’ll continue to open our inspiring workspaces in Vancouver over the coming months.”

Inside Spaces’ new co-working location at 151 West Hastings Street, Vancouver. (Spaces)

The city centre currently has some of North America’s lowest office vacancy rates, and it is expected that the recent infusion of co-working office locations from multinational companies like Spaces and WeWork will provide some relief for some companies., particularly entrepreneurs and small businesses.

“We are seeing a massive global shift in how companies view office space,” said Colin Scarlett, Executive Vice President with Colliers International Vancouver, who helped Spaces secure its locations.

“Spaces is at the forefront of changing the way people use office space, moving away from traditional long-term leases with no flexibility, to fully flexible, managed and curated spaces. Spaces sees the opportunities in Vancouver and will be expanding rapidly in this market.”

Inside Spaces’ new co-working location at 151 West Hastings Street, Vancouver. (Spaces)

Spaces currently has three locations in the country – it has locations in Toronto, Montreal, and now Vancouver. Over the next two years, it has plans to add 15 additional offices in Canada.

Later this year, it will open a 70,000-sq-ft location within the old Tom Lee Music building on Granville Street and a 40,000-sq-ft location within the new South Flatz tech building in the False Creek Flats.

And in 2020, it will open a 120,000-sq-ft location at Westbank’s new ‘stacked glass cube’ office tower at 400 West Georgia Street, which is currently under construction.

Inside Spaces’ new co-working location at 151 West Hastings Street, Vancouver. (Spaces)

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