Inside Northspace, a co-working office with free popcorn, gaming competitions and single malt on offer

Where: 21 Kodiak Cres. How big: 5,000 square feet How much: Membership ranges from $35 to $1,250 a month Notable tenants: Enthusiast Gaming, a social media platform exclusively for gamers Perks: Free parking and coordinators for hire

When Meir Bulua’s marketing start-up, Leverage.IT, outgrew its tiny Forest Hill HQ, he wanted to upgrade but didn’t have a lot of cash. Bulua partnered with Aaron Zahler, owner of a growing construction company, who was also hunting for a new office. They scored a 5,000-square-foot spot (a former Hugo Boss showroom), and decided to convert it into a co-working space—which would also serve as another source of income. Although Zahler is a builder, he lacked design skills, so he recruited architect Noam Hazan to rejig the space from five traditional offices to 12 modern spaces (Hazan signed on soon after as a co-owner). The revamped workspace is a cross between a techie start-up and a DIY-furnished loft. There’s free popcorn on Thursdays and occasional gaming competitions. And the tenants get along great: according to Bulua, more than $300,000 in income has been generated as a result of tenants doing business with each other this year alone.

The building’s exterior is hyper-modern (and a bit severe):

Inside is a mix of communal space, private offices and enclosed meeting rooms:

Tenants are invited to enjoy some single malt when they book this particular private space. The shelves are made from vintage wine boxes:

Motivational phrases painted on the stairs help keep workers’ spirits up:

The furniture is a hodgepodge of functional pieces from IKEA and stuff left behind by Hugo Boss:

The tuck shop uses the honour system: tenants write down what they’ve taken, and the costs is added to their monthly bill: