The exterior of the repurposed building, including its iconic coat of arms and a new Regus logo. (rdnewsNOW/Ashley Lavallee-Koenig)

By Ashley Lavallee-Koenig

55 OFFICE SPACES

Regus coworking space brings new life to historic downtown building

Aug 29, 2024 | 8:45 PM

A historic downtown building has had its top floor revitalized to host a Regus coworking space, breathing new life into the structure and offering a clean and convenient work space for hybrid employees and entrepeneurs.

On August 29, City officials, community members, and partners of the project gathered to celebrate the completion of the space. The building was listed for sale in 2018 and East Lincoln Properties purchased it in 2022.

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Regus is a subsidiary under the International Workplace Group (IWG) which has 4,000 locations in more than 120 countries. This is the company’s first location in Red Deer.

“This is a beautiful downtown core. It is green, it is vibrant, it’s not just brick and browns and concrete sidewalk. This is probably one of the most vibrant downtowns that we have opened up within and I am elated to have our brand in the epicentre of your downtown district,” said Dana Pasutto, lead for the Prairies region with IWG.

Across the second floor’s 10,000 square feet, Regus has 55 offices to host an assortment of users.

An example of one type of office space, with a view too, available to users. (rdnewsNOW/Ashley Lavallee-Koenig)

“There is no confinement to who we support. It could be a Fortune 500 company that wants to hire a satellite employee from the Red Deer market, it could be an entrepeneur, and it could be absolutely everything in between, but with a key focus on local business and supporting the Red Deer economy,” Pasutto said.

He shared that since opening on July 8, Regus now has about a dozen clients using the space with demand increasing weekly. The number of clients that can be supported at a time is a moving target, he said, as the company offers flexible lease terms that allow for hourly, weekly, monthly, or yearly stays depending on a client needs.

While Regus manages and furnishes the second floor space, East Lincoln Properties remains as the owner and landlord. Redeveloping the second floor was a $3 million project for East Lincoln and the main floor still remains undeveloped.

“When a company like East Lincoln decides to do what they have done today, they are making a statement that Red Deer is vital; Red Deer is a necessary part of a thriving Alberta; there is a future in the downtown of Red Deer,” said Mayor Ken Johnston.

Originally built in 1951, the building functioned with an assortment of tenants over the years, including the Canada Revenue Agency and the RCMP, who used it as a remand centre. Writing from the prisoners held in its basement cell remain on the walls to this day.

“We were expecting it to be much more challenging because of the age of the building, but it was immaculately cared for by the government. When we took it over it was in really good shape,” said Tanya Kure, director of property development for East Lincoln Properties. “It was well built, it was well cared for, so we were able to do something like this.”

The building’s Statement of Significance lists protected heritage elements of the space including the brick facade, brass handrails, terrazzo flooring, and the prisoners’ writing on the (basement) walls.

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