Coworking North Bay: Former school repurposed as versatile, multi-use space.

AuthorKelly, Lindsay
PositionNORTH BAY

At North Bay's former Tweedsmuir Elementary School, the tenants are interesting and varied: a lawyer, visual artists, mental health professionals, a yoga studio, and the Canadian Cancer Society have all found a home here, embracing their differences to create a unique work environment.

This is coworking176.space. As the name implies, the 20,000-square-foot former school has been transformed into a co-working space where everyone is welcome, and any kind of tenant can find room to meet their needs.

It's the brainchild of father-son duo Christian and Richard Fortin, who purchased the building in 2015 after a local school board declared it surplus and have been undertaking extensive renovations on the school ever since.

Richard, the creative director at the content marketing organization RFP Media, first came to appreciate coworking spaces while living and working in southern Ontario.

"I had seen in Toronto coworking spaces that were just incredibly dynamic and amazing and changing, and they really and truly have ... blown up," he said. "I came back to North Bay and wanted a space like that."

Christian, owner of Mallette-Goring in North Bay and president of Pronor Developments, brought three decades of experience in real estate and development to the project.

Together, the pair conceived a collaborative, membership-based enterprise that's designed to be smart and efficient in serving its assorted tenants.

Popular in larger metropolitan areas around the globe, coworking spaces are large, often repurposed buildings with lots of square footage that's broken up for different uses to create affordable, flexible space for a variety of clients.

At coworking176.space, desks or small, private offices are available for rent for new, home-based entrepreneurs, for example, and boardrooms and meeting rooms are on site, should they need a larger space to meet with clients.

"What's really different than a normal place you rent in town is that here you pay for use," Christian said. "So, you don't pay rent on boardrooms that are vacant 50 or 75 per cent of the time. If you need a boardroom, you book it and you pay for the time you use it."

There are also larger spaces available for more permanent, anchor tenants that are seeking a unique work environment, like the Canadian Cancer Society.

This model also makes it more affordable for not-for-profit organizations or artists who don't always have the resources for a traditional studio or storefront. In addition...

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT