Success Centre

What is coworking?

You’ve heard the term. You may even be wondering if a coworking space is for you…

Coworking is an alternative to traditional office space. There are more freelancers, remote workers, entrepreneurs, solopreneurs, startups, and digital nomads than ever before, but even small business owners (like real estate agents, marketers, interior designers, etc. are choosing coworking spaces. Why rent a whole office when you can be part of a premium space and community? Not only does it make professional sense, it makes financial sense.

When you walk in, you may find it looks like any other office for a company, but many companies share the space, even though some might have small private offices.

Our coworking rooms have an open office format where you chose your desk for the day. We provide high speed wifi, printing, snacks, and coffee so that you can work in a productive environment.

Impact Calgary is located within The Meta Space, which is composed of two buildings, so verify with the person you are meeting, or the event you are attending, to get the right address. Don’t worry if you go to the wrong one because the are right next door to each other 🙂

Location A: 3rd floor of 215 10 Ave SW, so take the elevator up. This location is NOT wheelchair accessible (yet)

Location B: 211 10 Ave SW (the current sign says Prints Charming). This location IS partially wheelchair accessible (accessibility is coming soon)

Our mailing address is: Impact Calgary 301, 215 10 Ave SW Calgary, AB  T2R 0A4

Check out Location and Accessibility for detailed information

Impact Calgary is located within The Meta Space in the Beltline, which is composed of two buildings.

Location A:  3rd floor of 215 10 Ave SW, so take the elevator up.

This is a historical 3-story red brick building on the south side of 10^th Ave SW between 1^st and 2^nd street SW. The named on the front of the building is MacCosham Place. It has a big 215 on the door.

The front entrance is not wheelchair accessible (yet), so if you require assistance entering the building, we will make every attempt to help you in the building via the stairs. As the building is a designated historical site, we are in the process of removing as many barriers as possible. 

Location B:  211 10 Ave SW (the current sign says Prints Charming)

This is a storefront location where most of the classrooms, labs, and event spaces are located.

This location is wheelchair accessible into the front area, but currently has some inaccessible areas due to a few steps we are in the process of removing as many barriers as possible. 

As we are a social impact organization, we strongly encourage 1) walking, 2) cycling, 3) public transit, or 4) e-scooter
(in that order of priority)
over 5) driving whenever possible.

The closest Plus15‘s to 10th Avenue are located in City Centre Parkade (Gulf Canada Square) and Calgary Tower/Palliser, both come within 2 blocks of our address.

If you need a boost, there may be a Lime or Bird scooter, or bicycle nearby for the last leg of your journey.

As we are a social impact organization, we strongly encourage 1) walking, 2) cycling, 3) public transit, or 4) e-scooter
(in that order of priority) over 5) driving whenever possible.

Public bike racks are plentiful right in front of the building. Indoor bicycle parking is available upon request. Rates and availability vary due to capacity and level of security.

As we are a social impact organization, we strongly encourage 1) walking, 2) cycling, 3) public transit, or 4) e-scooter
(in that order of priority) over 5) driving whenever possible.

The closest cTrain stops are WB 1 Street SW (5 minute walk) and EB Centre Street (10 minute walk)

Bus routes 6, 7, 24, 13, 90, and 449 stop within three blocks of The Meta Space.

Local bus stops include NB 1 St SW @ 10 Av SW (Routes 6, 24, 90); SB 1 St SW @ 10 Av SW (Routes 90, 13, 449); WB 11 AV S @ Centre ST (Routes 7, 24);  SB 1 ST SW @ 8 AV SW (Routes 13, 90, 449); NB 4 ST SW @ 7 AV SW (Route 7); EB 12 AV SW @ 2 ST SW (Route 90)

As we are a social impact organization, we strongly encourage 1) walking, 2) cycling, 3) public transit, or 4) e-scooter
(in that order of priority) over 5) driving whenever possible.

Ride sharing is a convenient way to cut transportation costs, help reduce congestion, and contribute to environmental protection. Consider scooters and bikes such as Lime, or Bird, or a car share option such as car2go.  

Coming from out of town? Consider Poparide.

Ride Hailing: Uber or taxi may be an option suitable for you.

Need to charge your electric vehicle (EV)?

As we are a social impact organization, we strongly encourage 1) walking, 2) cycling, 3) public transit, or 4) e-scooter
(in that order of priority) over 5) driving whenever possible.

If you must drive, there is some free street parking in the area, but you will have to look for it. This map may help.

We also support ParkChamp a started in 2017 by two female founders in Calgary to that helps people find and pay for shared / unused parking spaces. If you have an unused parking space in our neighbourhood, maybe you can list it, and our guests can use it 🙂

Street parking rates fluctuate during the day. Below is an estimated rate. Verify online or at payment machines.

As we are a social impact organization, we strongly encourage 1) walking, 2) cycling, 3) public transit, or 4) e-scooter
(in that order of priority) over 5) driving whenever possible.

If you must drive, there is some free street parking in the area, but you will have to look for it. This map may help.

We also support ParkChamp a started in 2017 by two female founders in Calgary to that helps people find and pay for shared / unused parking spaces. If you have an unused parking space in our neighbourhood, maybe you can list it, and our guests can use it 🙂

Street parking rates fluctuate during the day. Below is an estimated rate. Verify online or at payment machines.

As we are a social impact organization, we strongly encourage 1) walking, 2) cycling, 3) public transit, or 4) e-scooter
(in that order of priority) over 5) driving whenever possible.

We support ParkChamp a started in 2017 by two female founders in Calgary to that helps people find and pay for shared / unused parking spaces. If you have an unused parking space in our neighbourhood, maybe you can list it, and our guests can use it 🙂

Impact Calgary is a catalyst for game changers to develop regenerative businesses an to co-create a flourishing world

Impact Calgary cultivates and forwards opportunities for cross-sector social and economic development with a mission to share and mobilize time, money, resources, energy, talents, and leading edge practices that embed, social and environmental priorities (such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), B Corp standards (B Corp) and Impact Reporting and Investment Standards (IRIS)), into governance and operations to foster flourishing businesses with mission-driven purpose and profit.

We progress our mission, and manifest our vision, as a social business venture that nurtures a vibrant community of impact leaders through coworking, events, and programs that facilitate ‘impact first’ business development, and access to funding for social entrepreneurs and benefit businesses.

Imagine a flourishing society that supports all members by breaking down barriers between profit and not-for-profit mindsets through the collective impact of visionaries, game changers, and challengers. Strongly Sustainable Business Models harness the potential and a critical mass of investors, entrepreneurs, and consumers driving engagement via entrepreneurial and innovative solutions to make the world a better place.

As we move further into the 21^st century, and place so much emphasis on welcoming recent newcomers to our country, it is more important than ever to look back and acknowledge the early atrocities that we committed against our nation’s original inhabitants of more than 10,000 years. Canada is made of up more than 200 ethnic origins. In essence, compared to Indigenous populations, we are all newcomers here, whether our families have lived here for months, or for a century. At some point, our families immigrated here, and began new lives, in a new land – Canada.

Land acknowledgements stem from an Indigenous tradition that dates back centuries. In our place, we offer acknowledgement in recognition of the original inhabitants, and caretakers, of what is now Canada. This is part of our truth and reconciliation process with the First Nations, the indigenous peoples, of Canada. Along with a deep understanding of its context and meaning, making a land acknowledgment is a small but important first step in the reconciliation process between Canada’s Indigenous people and those who came later.

We are a global community and respect where everyone is coming from. In Canada, it is becoming normal for us to acknowledge our privilege to be in the place we are in. Land acknowledgements stem from an Indigenous tradition that dates back centuries. In our place, we offer acknowledgement in recognition of the original inhabitants, and caretakers, of what is now Canada. This is part of our truth and reconciliation process with the First Nations, the indigenous peoples, of Canada. Along with a deep understanding of its context and meaning, making a land acknowledgment is a small but important first step in the reconciliation process between Canada’s Indigenous people and those who came later.

We ask that you take a moment to reflect on, research, and understand your own local context about the lands where you live, work, and play.

In this spirit, we acknowledge for all of us:

This is sacred land on which each of us are privileged to be.

This land, nearby lakes, and sea has supported human beings for thousands of years, and is rich in history, knowledge, and tradition.

We are privileged to be beneficiaries and the steward of all that has come before, on behalf of the seven generations to come, and beyond.

We invite you to consider your relationship to the land, and how you benefit from being there while the original caretakers may not. Take a moment to reflect on, research, understand, honour, and respect peoples indigenous to the lands where you live, work, and play.

Today, each place around the world is increasingly home to peoples from across the world, and we are each grateful to have the opportunity to be where we are today.

We invite you to consider your relationship to the land, and how you benefit from being here while the original caretakers may not. Take the time to reflect on, research, understand, honour, and respect peoples indigenous to the lands where you live, work, and play. We ask you to do the research to be able to introduce yourself in relation to the land, the people on whose traditional territory are you standing, and how to pronounce it correctly (e.g. fact check on nativeland and Canadian Encyclopedia)

In this spirit, we acknowledge for all of us:

We acknowledge the traditional territories of the Niitsitapi (Blackfoot Confederacy) and the people of the Treaty 7 region in Southern Alberta, which includes the Siksika  , the Piikuni , the Blood Tribe/Kainai  , the Tsuut’ina , and the îyârhe Nakodabi (Stoney-Nakoda) First Nations, including Chiniki, Bearpaw, and Wesley First Nations. Calgary is situated on land adjacent to where the Bow River meets the Elbow River, and that the traditional Blackfoot name of this place is “Mohkinstsis”  which we now call the City of Calgary. The City of Calgary is also home to Métis Nation of Alberta Region III.

(Most audio clips via (Glenbow Museum, 2019))
[1] Audio including the word “Tsuut’ina” via (Starlight, 2019)

We are in the Bow River Basin. First Nations people have used the Bow River and its wetland and riparian (interface between land and a river or stream) regions for more than 10,000 years. The river and its tributaries not only supported local plants and wildlife, they provided a natural strategic base and transportation route, forcing human populations to remain within reasonable distances to water.

Ever wonder how the river came to be named the Bow? Bow refers to the reeds that grow along the banks of the Bow River. The Peigan name for the river is Makhabn, meaning “river where bow reeds grow” – This is a flood plain.

So we are in the Meta Space. Two buildings in Calgary, on the east edge of the Beltline BIA, the west edge of the Victoria Park BIA, and the south Edge of the Downtown Association. A connecting point between 3 communities.

One of the reasons we make this biophysical recognition is because it is connected to the place that we’re in, and it’s dependent upon the places that we’re all in. Just think about where the sewer in your building connected to, I’m sure you visited the bathroom just before this meeting, or maybe you will just afterwards, and you’re dependent on the ecosystem service that is provided by the watershed that you are in. And for those of you use the Flourshing Business Canvas which is one of tools developed by this community, this watershed is a collection of vital biophysical stocks and upon which we are all interdependent.

Nature is the foundation of our social and economic prosperity.

What’s inside these buildings, these spaces?

Metaspace, originally owned by Robert Ross Scott, Fruit merchant in 1912 to 1929. Now known as historic MacCosham Place (Beltline Urban Society, n.d.), it was occupied by longtime tenant the MacCosham Storage & Distributing Company from 1937 to 1975. “Between 1912 and the 1950’s its tenant list would have seemed a “dream team” to candy lovers: chocolatiers Lowney’s, Neilson’s, Fry-Cadbury, and Rowntree, as well as Canada Dry Ginger Ale and the Empress Manufacturing Company, whose food products included jams. For purists, there was the B.C. Sugar Refining Company, and, for those who favored savory, the Vancouver Pickle Company.”