Fair share: the right office solution can take finding the right partner

The rise of remote and hybrid work has made it harder to justify a full office, so more are leaning on co-working spaces that they share with many others for convenience and cost savings. The choice, however, comes at the expense of privacy and control.

There’s more choice than ever for office space, but it can still be a challenge for smaller companies to find the right fit.

The rise of remote and hybrid work has made it harder to justify a full office, so more are leaning on co-working spaces that they share with many others for convenience and cost savings. The choice, however, comes at the expense of privacy and control.

A couple of entrepreneurs in the design world have taken the novel approach of something in between: co-leasing.

Even though Ian Chalmers, principal of Pivot Design Group, and Peter Scott, head of Q30 Design Inc. are with somewhat competing firms, they teamed up to find a space to share that could meet the expectations of their designer-trained eyes, but that also wouldn’t sit empty half the time. The two companies trade off days so they aren't in the office at the same time.

“You don't need an office full time, board rooms, all that overhead, so the idea really clicked and felt like a great approach,” said Chalmers.

It may sound surprising that it is hard to find an office given headlines about sharply higher vacancies, but much of the empty space is concentrated in lower-end buildings past their prime, while top-rated offerings still command a premium.

In downtown Vancouver, the highest class of rents were $46.38 per square foot last quarter, and $35.39 in Toronto, according to CBRE. Nationally, A-class downtown rent averaged $29.24, down only slightly from $29.79 a year earlier.