Inglewood co-working space survives pandemic, reopens after being closed for months

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (KABC) -- A big part or entrepreneurship is networking, which can be hard to do during a pandemic with stay-at home orders in place.

But after being closed for seven months, LA Create Sp_ce, a coworking community in Inglewood has reopened.

"It means a lot to reopen, to be able to have the opportunity to reopen in a safe manner," said co-founder Terell Johnson. "It's a story about resilience. We're still here after all this time."

For many, working from home has become the new norm, but some members said having to work from home during the pandemic hasn't been an easy task for everyone.

"My business is built on relationships," said Inglewood real estate agent Daria Stakely, "I have four kids who are distance learning and I need to get out and be around other people sometimes," she continued.

"It's a necessary expense. I wouldn't say it's an extra one," said small business owner Sharná Jeffers. "Having a home-based business and an online boutique, an outside space where I can plan and think and I can actually spread out more than my living room. How do you put a value on that?"

LA Create Sp_ce is a membership based co-working community located in downtown Inglewood. Members have access to work spaces, conference rooms, production studios and more.

The co-founders believe in providing a space for local creatives, which is why one of their sayings is 'Why be in Hollywood, when you can be in Inglewood?'

"Inglewood is a real big melting pot. It's about the arts, it's about the culture, it's about the music," Terell Johnson said. "And our art kind of reflects that."

Terell and Marisa Johnson said it's been hard financially during the pandemic. They've lost some monthly members but luckily, they were able to get help through loans and grants.

"We did take advantage of the PPP loans and the grants because we were set up with our proper billing, with payroll and things like that so we were able to take advantage of the assistance," said co-founder Marisa Johnson.

Now their focus is providing a safe collaborative space. They've installed air purifiers, hand sanitizing stations and cleansing wipes for their members and although LA Create Sp_ce is fully open, it's operating at a reduced capacity.

"With theaters starting to open up and the economy starting to pick back up again, I think it's a great time to get out of the house and get things together," said entrepreneur Theo Dumont.

"We built the space from ground up," Marisa Johnson said. "We've seen it grow from nothing into something and now to welcome back community, I can't be more thrilled."

LA Create Sp_ce is located at 401 E Hillcrest Blvd, Inglewood, CA 90301.

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