Situated just 50 steps from the sand, on Pier and Hermosa Aves, this new hub occupies what was previously a performing arts theater at the Bijou building. Originally built in the 1920s, it still has its historic charm, Romanesque style, and gothic ornamentation. The space owes its renaissance to visionary Jason Muller, a trained architect who started his own real estate development business after grad school at USC. Today, he is the founder and CEO of two companies, Beach City Capital and Local Collaborative.
“We wanted to have the contemporary meet the historic,” says Jason Muller about the newly transformed space of Local Collaborative Hermosa. After doing a napkin sketch of the future space with his brother, also an architect, he hired the renowned architecture firm Gensler to work their magic and bring his ideas to life.
Spread over 4,500 square feet with 26-foot clear ceilings, the coworking offices features a brick backdrop that contrasts against glass and steel elements — a beautiful juxtaposition of material and space quality that Jason Muller envisioned.
“It really came about better than we could have hoped for,” he says.
The open space has high-quality offices on each side with the bullpen in the center buzzing with members of both dedicated desks and hot desks. Local Collaborative offers a professional conference room, a lobby and kitchen with fresh coffee, teas and Hermosa Brewery Beer on tap, just to add in that extra “wow” factor.
“We ended up getting five 60-by-12-foot walnut tables all from the same tree in Oregon” says Jason Muller. “Elements like our rug, used to mitigate sound, adds comfort but also evokes the ocean with its sea foam green and blue hues.”
Local Collaborative is also frequently used as a gathering space for engaged members of the South Bay community. To date, several events have been held in the space, bringing together people to educate and collaborate on various ventures.
For example, the space recently hosted two significant investment summits that brought together investors, entrepreneurs, and local business leaders to discuss and explore new opportunities in the South Bay area. These events have further cemented Local Collaborative’s reputation as a hub for innovation and collaboration.
Imagined to enable people to be as efficient and creative as possible, the atmosphere is lively and vibrant.
“I wanted to create a space that can be productive and communal, wanting to be there, increasing the quality of life” explains Jason Muller. “That was one thing that really stuck with me at my Graduate studies, thanks to my professor Robert Harris at USC who said that our main goal as an architect is to improve the quality of life for people, improve the quality of sustainability for the planet, and improve the quality of work for folks that you design for.”
Feeding people’s energy through flow, decor and synergy, Local Collaborative Hermosa also favors human connections, going beyond the sole function of working in a nice environment.
“When we have events, we invite the Local Collaborative members and we are like a small family.”
Local Collaborative is now expanding by adding 6 offices on the mezzanine level, to cater to demand, and is open to investment.
Local Collaborative | localcollaborativehermosa.com
Photographs Courtesy of Local Collaborative