Seedworks helps fill important gap for downtown innovation spaces

The Seedworks (@TheSeedworks) co-working space had its grand opening last night. I popped in for a bit just to check it out, and they’ve done a great job.

Jeff Feswick and David Premi are the people behind the project to restore the century old Tregunno Seeds building into a modern hub of innovation where co-working creatives, professionals and entrepreneurs can connect and grow their business. Seedsworks is located at 126 Catherine Street North, which means it’s a less than 5 minute walk to James Street.

The space itself looks beautiful:

 

 

 

 

 

 

The membership options are as follows:

FULL-TIME:
This membership provides permanent residence at THE SEEDWORKS with a designated desk space for
exclusive use of the member.

Desk at $400/month
24 hour access, 7 days per week
10GB digital storage on server with back-up
Telephone land line available at $30/month
Access to printer at the rates of $.05/B&W and $.30/Colour
Preferred rates on Boardroom at $25/hour and Meeting Room at $10/hour
Double Lateral File at $10/month

PART-TIME:
$100/month (subject to availability)
40 hours per month in the social space or café
Monday-Friday 8:30am-6:00pm access
Wi-Fi access, no server access
Access to printer at the rates of $.05/B&W and $.30/Colour
Boardroom at $40/hour and Meeting Room at $25/hour

DROP-IN:
$25/day (subject to availability)
Monday-Friday 8:30am-6:00pm access
Wi-Fi access, no server access
Access to printer at the rates of $.05/B&W and $.30/Colour
Boardroom at $40/hour and Meeting Room at $25/hour

 

To me one of the most interesting things about Seedworks is the location. Just the other week there was a comment thread discussing the lack of a downtown innovation hub:

 

 

Seedworks is filling an important gap in the market in Hamilton for downtown innovation spots.

I’ve heard rumours that other people are planning co-working spaces in downtown Hamilton. Hopefully we see these happen. I suspect there’s definitely room for more co-working spaces, especially downtown, and maybe even co-working spaces that cater to specific sectors (like, cough, software / web development). Seriously though, I think somebody really should take a stab at a co-working space in downtown Hamilton targeting and catering to software / web development.

Each of these co-working spaces serves a different purpose by providing value in different ways, and in the process they build a market for future spaces. It’s not a zero-sum game, all these spaces existing together can help grow the entrepreneurial culture in Hamilton.