Top Stories 2015 | #8 — 1120 Creative House opens in downtown Tacoma

By Todd Matthews • December 18, 2015 11:30 am
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EDITOR’S NOTE: The Tacoma Daily Index is looking back at the 10 most read articles among visitors to our Web site in 2015.

Spaceworks Tacoma embarked on its most ambitious project to date when it announced in February that it would open the co-working space 1120 Creative House, located at 1120 Pacific Ave., inside a downtown Tacoma high-rise building (see “Spaceworks Tacoma opens downtown co-working space,” Tacoma Daily Index, Feb. 9, 2015).

“Absolutely, it’s the biggest [Spaceworks Tacoma project] in every way,” Spaceworks Tacoma Marketing and Artscapes Coordinator Gabriel Brown told the Tacoma Daily Index during an interview and building tour in February (see “1120 Spaceworks: Creativity abounds in a downtown Tacoma office building,” Tacoma Daily Index, Feb. 20, 2015). After a quick elevator ride from Pacific Avenue up to the second floor, Brown unlocked a door that opened onto a large room where natural light poured through two walls of windows, and one could hear the familiar clang of Tacoma’s Link light rail as it coasted along Commerce Street nearby. “We’ve had a lot of internal conversations about how to take it on and the best way to go about it because it’s bigger than what we have done before.”

Much work was completed before photographers, painters, sculptors, and other creative small-business owners started to move in. The building owner installed new flooring, covered the walls in fresh paint, refurbished the bathrooms and the kitchen, and updated the electrical, plumbing, and lighting systems. Spaceworks Tacoma—a joint initiative of the City of Tacoma and the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber that aims to activate empty storefronts and vacant spaces—partnered with Columbia Bank for furniture. Earthwise Architectural Salvage finished the kitchen area by adding a refrigerator and additional cabinets. And Rainier Connect provided Internet service.

Spaceworks Tacoma hosted an open house in March (see “Spaceworks Tacoma: 1120 Creative House grand opening March 19,” Tacoma Daily Index, March 11, 2015), inviting locals to tour nearly a dozen studio spaces.

“The building is such a great opportunity for Spaceworks Tacoma because it’s right downtown, it’s so visible, and it’s been vacant for so long,” Spaceworks Tacoma Manager Heather Joy told the Tacoma Daily Index. “People are excited to hear Spaceworks is doing something like this.”

Spaceworks Tacoma Marketing and Artscapes Coordinator Gabriel Brown inside 1120 Creative House. (FILE PHOTO BY TODD MATTHEWS)
Spaceworks Tacoma Marketing and Artscapes Coordinator Gabriel Brown inside 1120 Creative House. (FILE PHOTO BY TODD MATTHEWS)

To read earlier coverage of the Tacoma Daily Index‘s top stories during 2015, click on the following links:

Todd Matthews is editor of the Tacoma Daily Index, an award-winning journalist, and the author of several books. His journalism is collected online at wahmee.com.

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