Like many cities, Guelph is seeing a rise in demand for coworking spaces.
And it is only expected to grow.
Currently, Guelph has a few coworking offices, including long-standing 10C, Innovation Guelph and The Junction.
Due to lockdown restrictions, shared spaces are closed in Guelph, but as soon as the restrictions are lifted, the spaces are expected to fill rapidly.
“I would say that there's more of a need now than there ever was before,” said Diana Train, Innovation Guelph’s facility and event manager.
“I know for a fact that a lot of offices have decided to not rent the massive large commercial building. They're allowing people to work from home. So we have definitely seen that spike in inquiries.”
Innovation Guelph opened their coworking space a few months after they moved into their new building on Southgate Drive.
Train said many residents in Guelph are unaware that their space is available and many were coming from outside of Guelph and Wellington County to use their space.
“I can't tell you the amount of people who are like 'I'm sick of spending my time at Starbucks' because it was a space for them to go,” said Train.
“There's always been a very positive energy up until COVID or co working space was always widely used and very popular because sometimes — I'm sure a lot of people can agree on this— pre-COVID, there were a lot of people who just didn't want to work at home.”
On the other hand, 10C, which has been providing shared spaces in Guelph for 13 years, saw a shift in who is accessing the space during the summer of 2020.
“Some of them (customers) are now funded by their employer to have a space out of their home which is good for everyone,” said 10C’s executive director Julia Grady.
She said in the past, the majority of people accessing the space were solo entrepreneurs and now the building is seeing people who simply want to work with others in the community.
“I think there's going to be a longer term shift there,” said Grady.
10C has office space for approximately 100 different participants but like all businesses cannot work in full capacity during pandemic restrictions.
“The packages are very flexible. So there's part-time there, there’s hot-desking which is flexible. if you just get an afternoon to cowork we have that and full time including full-time offices and storage and your own equipment and shared services,” said Grady.
The Junction offers private offices in shared coworking spaces.
“While we were fully leased out prior to the pandemic, I would say that there has been an increase in the amount of people inquiring about the space,” said Melissa Hare from The Junction.
“All 46 of our offices are currently fully leased out with a waiting list, so that’s a good indication of the demand in our region.”
She said with many employees working remotely, businesses are downsizing office spaces, seeking smaller offices where employees can access a desk on alternate days or in smaller groups and looking for meeting rooms to bring their team together.
Train also said Guelph could use more coworking spaces.
“Especially just with the change with a lot of companies because of COVID. They realized people can work from home. A lot of companies aren't renting out those massive buildings anymore. So I definitely think that the more coworking space the better,” said Train.
