Are coffee shops and your living room couch limiting your work productivity? Find solace in one of the many coworking spaces in Toronto. View the VIBE’s Ama Scriver rounds up the best new shared office spaces in the city.
As a freelancer, sometimes you can feel downright lonely out there hustling the mean streets of Toronto. While working in cafes is cheap and easy, let’s face it – that wifi situation is sketchy and sometimes people can get all too close to your personal bubble. Hey, we have all been there. But guess what? Toronto has a really amazing and incredibly thriving coworking community where young entrepreneurs can come together and share workspace, bounce ideas off one another and bring potential clients for meetings. It’s a place to call home and it’s a place that you can build your new business in a supportive environment.
So are you looking for a new home? Well you might want to check out some of these coworking spaces in Toronto:
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East Room
50 Carroll St
The 8,000-square-foot space located in the east end of Toronto is solely dedicated to creating a coworking environment for the creative industries. Owned and operated by Derreck and Sam Martin (third-generation antique dealers), the venue includes multiple boardrooms, large meeting spaces, and more. Not convinced? East Room was the home to Jazz Cartier and Daniel Caesar’s debut album show as well as Melo-X’s first official show in Toronto. Where do I sign up for a membership?
Verkspace
100-32 Britain Street
Another East-end gem with a bit of a Scandinavian feel is Verkspace. Located in Old Town, the 9,000-square-foot-space features big bright windows, dedicated front desk staff, beautiful boardroom and kitchen/lounge area. The space has been thoughtfully designed for freelancers and young entrepreneurs on the go, even down to the name. The word “verk” means job or business in Icelandic. A great emerging space with lots of heart and feel.
Now Common
Bay and Dundas
This is not your typical coworking space. This is a space by entrepreneurs and for entrepreneurs. Found in the heart of downtown Toronto (Bay and Dundas), the 800 square-foot space features dedicated work spaces and flexible harvest table options – perfect for those who are unsure if they want to make the plunge. Plus the best part, the prices are reasonable and there are absolutely no contracts. Perfect for meet-ups, photo shoots or just dipping your toes into the coworking waters.
Random Works (aka RNDMWRK)
Multiple locations across Toronto
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We have to hand it to founder David King – this is a genius idea. Random Works books out space in bars or restaurants that typically sit empty during the day and offers them up to new freelancers and businesses for a low membership price. While the space offers the basics (Nespresso, tea, water and wifi) – it is bringing community together in random spaces and random places and the concept seems to be working. Since King’s launch a month ago in a West Queen West location, he has expanded to two more locations including one in the East end and one in Chinatown. Not bad, not bad at all.
MakeWorks
1139 College St
The space, which has been part of the maker community for some time, opened its doors to the public two years ago. With its home in the West end of the city, the space is great for co-working and vibrant prototyping offering an in-house laser cutter, 3D printer, and CNC machine (uh, cool!). There are private boardrooms, weekly socials, and events plus great coffee and wifi. Plus, it’s home to the makerspace, The Shop which is dedicated to ceramics and crafts. I’m already inspired.
For more details on services and locations, check out the websites of the spaces listed above. Alternatively, you can use one of the various office brokerages available online to search for your ideal co-working space in Toronto.