Localgroup Studio COVID-19 Reopening
/Dear co-workers and friends of Localgroup Studio,
For 10 weeks, Localgroup Studio has been closed for business during Washington State's "Stay Home, Stay Healthy" order to slow the spread of coronavirus. Now Whatcom County has entered Phase 2 of the Safe Start process, when offices are allowed to reopen again, including Localgroup. Effective Monday June 8th, Localgroup Studio welcomes returning and new members to its offices, with the introduction of new precautions for the safety of its co-workers and community.
Read on to learn more about all the changes we've made.
Some of the precautions we have put in place:
10-foot separation of desks and workstations
the provision of face masks, hand sanitizer, and tissues to all co-workers at every desk and workstation and throughout the space
frequent air filter changes and HVAC maintenance
required safety training of all staff and co-workers
symptom screening for all co-workers via email
the installation of hands-free lights and temperature controls to reduce and remove contact with high-touch surfaces
compostable plates and cutlery for food consumption
nightly cleaning of high-touch areas Monday through Friday
installation of protective screens around offices (forthcoming)
For more details, and or our coronavirus Frequently Asked Questions, visit our COVID-19 Update page.
Here's a quick video tour of some of the new COVID-19 changes in the studio.
Expanded North Studio
If you haven't visited in the studio recently, you may not be aware that we nearly doubled our available coworking area when we expanded into the north side of the building (the space formerly occupied by Barry's Bail Bonds). We had just finished the process of fixing up the North Studio at the beginning of 2020, and we were planning a grand opening event right at the time when COVID struck.
The grand opening party will have to wait, but the new half of the studio is open and ready for coworking! Here are a few photos of the new space:
Revised layout, all dedicated desks
The expanded North Studio has given us lots of room to fully rearrange our layout to provide the maximum possible spacing to reduce the risk of virus transmission. Each coworker sits more than ten feet away from any other coworker.
Also, under our new COVID protocols, there will be no more "hot desking." Instead, all coworkers will have a dedicated desk assigned to them, regardless of whether they are full-time or part-time. To prevent the spread of germs, please do not touch other coworkers' chairs or desks.
Are you eager to come back to the studio, or maybe ready to try us out for the first time? Visit our sign up page and get started with a 20% discount on your first two months!
A diagram of the new studio layout. The old South Studio is on the left, and the new North Studio is on the right. Dark green circles show a six-foot diameter around each station, and the light green circles show the ample ten-foot spacing we offer at Localgroup.
Events paused indefinitely
Community events and educational talks were a very important part of our mission at Localgroup Studio, but unfortunately we do not have plans to resume any public events for the foreseeable future. Even when we move into later stages of the Safe Start program when group gatherings are no longer banned, it is unlikely that we will convert any of our space back into an events space, because we need all of our available square footage to maintain safe working distances for our coworkers.
In the future we may resume some programming in the form of virtual events, or by converting some ongoing events (like the Bellingham Housing Cooperative Resource Center open hours) into small meetings by appointment only.
Please stay tuned to this mailing list and to our social media feeds over the next months and years. It seems the fight against coronavirus will be a very long one, and we will do our best to continue supporting and building our local community in any way we can.
We are lucky to be a part of such a strong and lovely community, and we are honored to be stewards of this space which means so much to us and to so many of you (this space which we must never forget has been the traditional home of the Lummi and Coast Salish communities from time immemorial).
Thank you for reading. We hope to see you around the studio soon. Until then, take care of yourselves, take care of your loved ones, and take care of your neighbors. And as always, Black Lives Matter.
🖤🖤🖤