Red Deer's downtown building on 4909 50 St. (East Lincoln Properties)

By rdnewsNOW Staff

Regus

Portion of Red Deer’s former downtown federal building becomes hybrid workspace

Jun 7, 2023 | 8:30 AM

Red Deer’s former federal building downtown finally has a new purpose; the first hybrid workspace in the city.

East Lincoln Properties, current owner of the building on 4909 50 St., has announced that the International Workplace Group (IWG) is opening a new location under their Regus brand in the building.

The world’s largest provider of hybrid working solutions, the company says the demand for flexible workspace is accelerating across the country and their Red Deer opening is part of their drive to meet the demand in suburban and rural markets.

“Expanding into Red Deer as the city’s first and only flexible workspace is an important milestone for our company,” said Wayne Berger, IWG Chief Executive Officer of Americas. “This is our first market in Alberta outside of Calgary and Edmonton, and it’s a fantastic place for us to boost our expansion plans. Regus will offer a versatile workspace solution for local residents to work from a professional setting without signing a long-term lease, and for commuters to Calgary and Edmonton to set up closer to home.”

The company says the new 10,000-square-foot Regus office space will open in early 2024 on the top floor and will offer coworking space, private offices, meeting rooms and creative spaces with flexible lease terms. The 10,000 sq ft main floor is still seeking prospective tenants, according to East Lincoln Properties.

Last seen Jan. 15

Missing: Courtney Cattleman, 17, of Maskwacis

1h ago

eyes up

Air Spray training around Red Deer Regional Airport

1h ago

Prevention, Access, Recovery, and Coordination

Safe Harbour officially hands over shelter keys, establishes accessible navigation hub

19h ago

Multiple options are available in the hybrid workspace such as:

• Various office sizes
• Rent one or more office spaces at a time
• A connected cohort of offices with other IWG locations globally
• Personalized and customized spaces with IWG’s ‘Design Your Own Office’ option
• Use meeting rooms once in a while or for catering events
• Shared meeting rooms
• Used as a virtual office to acquire a business address for mailing while a professional reception handles work-related phone calls

Officials say there will also be a lounge, business center with printers and photocopiers, a communal kitchen, washrooms and an elevator.

East Lincoln Properties says the designated historic building has a “Statement of Significance” attached to it, outlining its character elements that are protected.

IWG says they plan to double its network in Canada over the next three years to 250 locations, focusing especially on smaller markets.

“To have a world-renowned flexible workspace operator seek out Red Deer as a key market for their expansion plans in Canada is a nod to our prosperous and diverse business community,” said Red Deer City Mayor Ken Johnston. “Regus will be an excellent addition to our downtown core as we strive to attract and bring the best-of-the-best businesses to our city.”

The IWG technology platform provides partners with access to their expertise, design and fit-out support, and sales and marketing capabilities.

The opening is being delivered in partnership with East Lincoln Properties, who purchased the building last year and have entered into a management agreement with the Regus brand, investing around $60M USD annually.

READ: Former Federal building downtown, home to CRA, post office and jail, finally sold

“As a developer, we are very intentional about how we support our tenants’ businesses through the spaces we create. A hybrid environment can allow businesses to be more agile as needs change and affords more flexibility for employees – we wanted to be able to offer that solution to our tenants,” said Tanya Kure, Director of Property Development for East Lincoln. “And we are so pleased that this is happening in a location that promotes economic development and revitalization in downtown Red Deer. The new justice centre along with the hospital expansion, will create a demand for satellite offices in Red Deer, and this caters to that need.“

She notes the location is parallel to the City’s parking lot, the Sorenson parkade and Ross Street restaurants.

The deal was also facilitated by commercial real estate company Colliers Canada.

“Landlords are capitalizing on the new hybrid work model by partnering with IWG to bring coworking to their buildings. We’re proud to help facilitate this new agreement between East Lincoln Properties and IWG, and make Red Deer the next city to have the best-in-class flexible office spaces,” said Ian Huston, Managing Director of Colliers Calgary.

IWG has 12 Regus locations in Calgary, with another opening this fall, and two in Edmonton. IWG says they will also be opening their first Spaces brand coworking location and an HQ brand workspace Edmonton this year.