In St. John's, a massive 'innovation centre' aims to bring established companies under one roof

On the east end of St. John's, a new hub is aiming to bring together sectors like mining, ocean technology and agriculture all under one roof to get them to find new ways to work together, says the centre's head.

Co. Innovation Centre is located in the former Rona building on Torbay Road and has undergone a massive interior renovation in the last year in order for it to become an innovation hub.

President Meagan Kay-Fowlow said the centre's name is meant to be a call to action.

"We want people to converge, collaborate, co-create and also be flexible in what that meant," she recently told CBC News.

Kay-Fowlow said in this context, collaboration means having people enter the same space, work together and have the opportunity to share technology-based solutions across industries like energy, mining, ocean technologyand beyond.

She stressed Co. Innovation Centre isn't exclusively for businessesin the tech sector.

"There's a lot of areas of overlap [where] we can take those lessons learned and not reinvent the wheel," she said.

Crafting a space

The Co. Innovation Centre's building has a number of largerooms, including an open office space lined with desks that are rented out.

"When I first began, the Rona building was empty," she said."There was nothing in here. It was an empty warehouse. So it still feels shocking to be able to walk in and actually have all of this in place."

She said they'vebuilt additions tothe original building and it now has more than 50,000 square feet, including an additional 10,000 square feet from amezzanine.

Between August 2023 to the present she said they've been able to complete phase one of construction, which she said included knocking down walls and creating an office space for desks and anindustrial space where businesses will be able to carry out demonstrations.

The space officially opened June 7.

Kay-Fowlow said some sections of the building are still under construction and will be used as an industrial space as well as a place for demonstration, where out-of-town businesses can show off their work.

"It's really flexible and that's what we're trying to do; not doing anything so permanent that we can't move it around," said Kay-Fowlow.

There's also a greenhouse on the property, left over from its days as a home improvement store, that she said they want to use forfuture events.

Coffee scene expands

Under the same roof as Co. Innovation Centre is Cape Coffee, a new coffee shop that will be open to the public in early September, said owner and general manager Phil Maloney.

While he's primarily associated with Bannerman Brewing Co., where he's a co-owner, Maloney said a few years ago he started a coffee roastery in Cape Broyle. That productisservedat his Duckworth Street brewery.

"I think the idea to have our own cafe it helps to spread the word about Cape Coffee a little bit more. Like, it is a sister company of Bannerman but it is its own separate thing," Maloneysaid.

He added the location is a perk as well, as it's along the Torbay Road which acts as a "gateway" that opens up the east end of St. John's.

The coffee shopwill also be like anoutpost for Bannerman Brewing, said Maloney, because inthe future he plans to sell Bannerman Brewing beer cans at Cape Coffee so people can pop into the coffee shop instead of having to drive downtown.

Maloney said the relationship between the coffee shop and Co. Innovation Centre is mutually beneficial, as it will caffeinate people who work in the building as well as visitors and will fill a gap in the east end of St. John's coffee scene.

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