Collective Agency, the Portland coworking firm started in 2011, is consolidating to its last location.
Collective Agency maintained a location at 3050 S.E. Division St. starting in 2016. Owner Alex Linsker said the last day that location will be open to members is Oct. 29. Linsker recently emailed members to tell them he decided against renewing the Division lease. Explaining the rationale, he wrote that for eight and a half years prior to Covid-19, the coworking firm was a worthwhile endeavor for him.
"Financially, it was never the most lucrative, but it was enough, and deeply satisfying and rewarding work," he wrote. Not long after Covid hit, however, "member revenue was less than expenses," Linsker wrote. "Unemployment and government grants kept me going, but with those ended, the Division lease ending, and my estimate that Covid will continue as it has for awhile, I need to focus on getting a full-time job."
Linsker told customers who have Division set as their primary location and who've prepaid past Oct. 30 to email him, at least one week ahead of Oct. 30, if they wanted a prorated refund. "If you want to quit, just message me, and your card won't be charged again," he wrote.
Members can still go to Collective Agency's last remaining location at 511 S.W. 10th Ave., Suite 1108, where the lease is good until the end of July 2024.
As with traditional office work, the premise of coworking — hanging out with other people in a still potentially crowded setting — has been a tricky one to navigate during the global pandemic. Coworking has at times been embraced as an alternative to staying at home. Coworking firms also stand to gain from a future where hybrid work seems increasingly normal.
Still, the local sector has experienced disruption. NedSpace, one of the earliest coworking businesses in Portland, was sold for an undisclosed price in a deal announced earlier this year. The giant WeWork used to have four local locations, but now only lists two.
In an interview, Linsker said he expects Covid-19 to last on and off for at least another two and a half years, and that his lawyer has recommended he get out for some time. Collective Agency had three leases at the beginning of the pandemic, including in Montavilla.
He said he used federal Paycheck Protection Program funding and commercial rent relief through Business Oregon, the state economic development agency. (He called the rent relief "the only thing helpful from the state.")
The company had a new policy as of Sept. 6 mandating that, with few exceptions, guests and members must confirm they are fully vaccinated before entering the Southwest 10th Avenue location. The mandate doesn't apply to children under age 12, who can be present for as long as three hours a day. Also, any guest or member can go into the area outside the Collective Agency suite, where there are two conference rooms.
Linsker holds good memories with the business. "When we started, I didn't eat lunch regularly, and sometimes not at all, and there was a member who sat at the desk behind me," he recalled. "He would always say, Alex, you're working too hard, want to get a bagel or want to get lunch? And from that I ended up eating lunch regularly, every day, and chatting with him was great, and eventually that expanded into regular lunches that other members also suggested."
And there are signs of hope.
"I'm losing less money, and with closing one location might make some money again," Linsker said. "A lot of members are switching over. I'm actually surprised by how many people are switching over, in a good way."
