Brainworks Bounces Back From Disaster With New Downtown Moncton Home
MONCTON–Like the phoenix of myth, Brainworks has risen again in its new home at the doorstep of downtown Moncton.
The marketing agency is finishing up work on its new perch at 413 Main St. This marks the final chapter of a fraught saga for Brainworks that began with a fire at its former location at 171 Lutz Street in April.
While the fire only affected 120-square-feet of space, that was enough to destroy all of Brainworks’ equipment – a loss that will cost about $500,000 to rectify.
“We realized we hadn’t just lost our equipment, we lost our office and studio space and had to start over almost completely,” said Hawkins, co-founder and owner of the company.
“It’s like being a taxi driver and not having a cab. It would have been easy to shut it all down and walk away from it – but we just decided to keep going.”
Co-founder and owner Brad LeBlanc said the entire team stuck with them, working six- to seven-day weeks to help rebuild Brainworks.
After a three-and-a-half-month search, considering the affordability, suitability, visibility, and parking availability of countless different properties, Hawkins and LeBlanc decided to move Brainworks and its staff of 22 to its new home.
Hawkins and Leblanc chose downtown Moncton because of its centrality and proximity to the city’s hustle and bustle. He said the location is fitting for a company full of energetic young people intent on creating things.
“There’s a certain vibe downtown and it’s a creative industry, and you like to be a part of that vibe,” said Hawkins, over the noise of a couple dozen people building and installing everything from desks to wall trimming, while staff worked in the background.
With a grand opening planned for late December, Brainworks has been refinanced by CIBC and LeBlanc has assembled a plethora of partners and suppliers to help them refit the building affordably – with new equipment factored in, that effort will entail about a million dollars’ worth of work.
Brainworks also spent between $25,000 and $28,000 recovering backup data that includes high-resolution video content.
Over the next five years, Brainworks is looking at spending $10 million to cover rent, renovations, new equipment and the costs of keeping all of its staff.
New Digs
Hawkins and LeBlanc stressed the decision was not just a response to the loss of their former home – it’s the pursuit of an opportunity for growth. They said the fire allowed them to reassess how they operated and build a plan to have all their day-to-day facilities under one roof.
Brainworks expanded from its former 2,600-square-foot footprint on Lutz to more than 6,000-square-feet across three storeys. It also refitted the space to create a sleek, state-of-the-art workplace that lends itself to collaboration – the lifeblood of the multidisciplinary promotions firm.
Brainworks installed everything from plumbing and electricity to showers on every floor, a wellness lounge with a massage table, and state-of-the-art equipment in the building – a far cry from the bare walls and plywood floors there before they moved in.
“We want to create a space that people aspire to go to – not just a place where they work,” said LeBlanc.
LeBlanc said amenities like showers and a kitchen and bar help employees and clients get comfortable and find a balance between deadline stress and their own needs.
“Often, time is of the essence and people are under a lot of pressure, we’re creating an environment where people can be nourished when hungry, or dehydrated, or can take a nap or shower if they need to,” said Hawkins.
“Clients come here and it’s a destination where they can take a break, eat if they’re hungry, and can do it in the middle of the work day or at 3 a.m.”
Brainworks’ first floor is split between the Grind Time Café hospitality space and a photo and video studio.
LeBlanc said at previous locations Brainworks rented out studios for video production. With an in-house studio, Hawkins said Brainworks could now set up sets and “film an episode of Friends.”
“If someone walked in here right now with a challenge on their hands – like a client they need to meet in Vancouver on Friday morning, our ability to service that client is…dramatically enhanced because we can run the show here, as opposed to jobbing all the pieces out,” Hawkins said.
“Instead of taking ten days to do something we can do it in three here.”
The second and third floors will contain its kitchen, bar, wellness lounge and offices and furnished collaboration spaces for the company’s creative staff, which includes graphic designers, video editors, animators, and its project management and client teams.
Brainworks’ landlord is Steve Gallant, a local developer who owns several downtown properties.
Brainworks, which started at the Dieppe Second Cup coffee shop, moved several times since its 2011 launch by LeBlanc, Hawkins, and his wife Lorrie Bell Hawkins.
The company specializes in video, animation, design, web development, and social media.
It designs communications plans to promote clients from around the world, including its 2020 promotion of the Nova Scotia Co-operative Council’s Barack Obama talk in Halifax.
Previous homes include LeBlanc’s apartment and a space above the Tide and Boar Gastropub at 700 Main St.
Sam Macdonald is a Huddle reporter in Moncton. Send him your feedback and story ideas: [email protected].