Co-working Space
Description
By acting as a communal workspace that is flexible for the needs of small businesses seeking space to develop, the Ghettostead can act as an entrepreneurial hub and small business incubator. Co-working spaces not only provide small businesses and budding entrepreneurs with spaces to create their vision, but also help to create a culture to boost creativity, learn about the needs of people, give and receive feedback from a wide audience, and be a part of a collective community that share similar goals and ambitions. The Ghettostead could be a co-working space for small businesses and nonprofits focused on food and food security to create more good with all of their collective work.
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www.blankspaces.com
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Case Study
Blank Spaces
Blank Spaces is a community co-working space in the Miracle Mile neighborhood of Los Angeles whose mission is to “provide a modern, communal workspace that will inspire creativity, promote occupational freedom and accommodate independent professionals and entrepreneurs with ever-changing schedules and needs.” Offering a vast assortment of office services and a variety of work spaces including offices, conference rooms, and work stations, Blank Spaces fits their space to the specific needs of their clientele.
Next Space
Next Space is a coworking space in Culver City specializing in creating not only a working environment for their clients, but also providing a community of creativity to share experiences, ideas, and processes to better each business. “Workspace plus Community = NextSpace”
Blank Spaces is a community co-working space in the Miracle Mile neighborhood of Los Angeles whose mission is to “provide a modern, communal workspace that will inspire creativity, promote occupational freedom and accommodate independent professionals and entrepreneurs with ever-changing schedules and needs.” Offering a vast assortment of office services and a variety of work spaces including offices, conference rooms, and work stations, Blank Spaces fits their space to the specific needs of their clientele.
Next Space
Next Space is a coworking space in Culver City specializing in creating not only a working environment for their clients, but also providing a community of creativity to share experiences, ideas, and processes to better each business. “Workspace plus Community = NextSpace”
Regulations
Co-working spaces are typically arranged for multiple people to work on separate projects simultaneously at the same place using the shared resources of the space. In the City of Los Angeles, co-working spaces are permitted in commercial zones and on the ground floors of multi-floor buildings in mixed use (RAS) zones. But the Ghettostead is in an R2 zone, so co-working spaces would be regulated under the section of the zoning code referring to home occupations. A home occupation is allowed in an R2 zone as long as it meets a list of 21 conditions--one of them being that the occupation be "conducted within the main dwelling unit […] and only by persons residing within the dwelling unit." Unless a co-working space at the Ghettostead does not allow two workers on the premises conducting paid work within the designated co-working space simultaneously, co-working spaces fall outside of the conditions allowed for home occupations in R-2 zones. Additionally, co-working spaces cannot take place in secondary dwelling units like the loft in the backyard of the Ghettostead. Since the main dwelling unit at the Ghettostead will continue to have private rather than community uses, a co-working space would not be permitted--unless the Ghettostead were to obtain a discretionary permit from the City Planning Department for a Zone Change or a Variance from the zoning regulations.
Tactical Options
- Develop a co-working program that precludes more than one worker working on site simultaneously.
- Operate a traditional co-working space informally while pursuing a discretionary permit for a Zone Variance or a Zone Change with the guidance of a land-use attorney and the support of the site’s neighbors.
- Operate a legal co-working space that allows multiple workers to make non-monetary transactions using alternative forms of trade such as time credit trades or barter.