Fernie’s Chamber of Commerce board of directors has voted in favour to sign a lease on a long-planned coworking space in the downtown area.
The decision was passed on the January 9th meeting. The Chamber will take possession of the site at 342 2nd Avenue on April 1st.
The Chamber said that the resolution was passed after a lot of groundwork was done, beginning with a feasibility study that was completed in July 2017.
“The feasibility study demonstrated a strong demand for a coworking space in Fernie, which has only appeared to grow since then,” said the Fernie Chamber of Commerce.
According to the Chamber, coworking spaces provide a flexible working environment for those that like to travel, work remotely or may work from home, startups that may not be able to afford office space, or people who wish to be around like-minded people.
The Chamber of Commerce said that its vision for the space is to be used as a hub for business innovation, learning and collaboration with professional development opportunities on offer.
The building to be used is the current home of the Fernie Free Press, which the Chamber said it is in negotiations with. It added that the Press intends to stay at its current historical location as a founding anchor tenant for the new coworking space.
This addition will add to the existing East Kootenay coworking spaces in Cranbrook and Invermere.