diff --git a/components/project-creation-modal.tsx b/components/project-creation-modal.tsx
index a564579..44a7d83 100644
--- a/components/project-creation-modal.tsx
+++ b/components/project-creation-modal.tsx
@@ -329,9 +329,11 @@ export function ProjectCreationModal({
                     {createdTheiaUrl ? (
                       <CheckCircle2 className="h-3.5 w-3.5 text-green-500 shrink-0" />
                     ) : (
-                      <XCircle className="h-3.5 w-3.5 text-yellow-500 shrink-0" />
+                      <Loader2 className="h-3.5 w-3.5 text-blue-400 shrink-0 animate-spin" />
                     )}
-                    Dedicated IDE workspace{createdTheiaUrl ? ` at ${createdTheiaUrl.replace('https://', '')}` : ' — provisioning failed'}
+                    Dedicated IDE workspace{createdTheiaUrl
+                      ? ` at ${createdTheiaUrl.replace('https://', '')}`
+                      : ' — provisioning in background (ready in ~30s)'}
                   </li>
                 </ul>
               </div>
diff --git a/lib/cloud-run-workspace.ts b/lib/cloud-run-workspace.ts
index 71f622d..54e1de1 100644
--- a/lib/cloud-run-workspace.ts
+++ b/lib/cloud-run-workspace.ts
@@ -112,6 +112,16 @@ export async function provisionTheiaWorkspace(
 
   if (!createRes.ok) {
     const body = await createRes.text();
+
+    // 409 = service already exists — fetch its URL instead of failing
+    if (createRes.status === 409) {
+      console.log(`[workspace] Cloud Run service already exists: ${serviceName} — fetching existing URL`);
+      const serviceUrl = await waitForServiceUrl(serviceName, token);
+      await allowUnauthenticated(serviceName, token);
+      console.log(`[workspace] Linked to existing service: ${serviceName} → ${serviceUrl}`);
+      return { serviceUrl, serviceName };
+    }
+
     throw new Error(`Cloud Run create service failed (${createRes.status}): ${body}`);
   }