WeWork is keeping most of its Chicago locations open amid bankruptcy proceedings.
The Fulton Market location, at 220 North Green Street, is the only one the company plans to close, as the embattled co-working company seeks to scale back all of its leases.
Closing the one location was a “difficult decision,” a WeWork statement read. “Chicago continues to be an important market for WeWork, and we look forward to continuing to provide our members with flexible workplace solutions at our other locations throughout the city.”
The company will maintain its leases at these eight Chicago locations:
- 167 North Green Street
- 330 North Wabash Avenue
- 515 North State Street
- 625 West Adams Street
- 4753 North Broadway
- 1 South Dearborn Street
- 222 South Riverside Plaza
- 448 North La Salle Drive
The upheaval at Wework comes at a difficult time for Chicago, as some office landlords face foreclosure, and other signs of distress reverberate through the post-COVID market.
WeWork previously faced an eviction filing for its 448 North La Salle location, but the proceeding was put on hold due to the bankruptcy protections. At the time, landlord Jaime Javors alleged WeWork was behind on $300,000 in rent, according to a complaint filed in October in Cook County court. But WeWork was able to maintain the lease.
So far, the company projects it will save an estimated $11 billion from closing locations across its portfolio. Its portfolio review is considered 97% complete, according to a WeWork news release.
WeWork is expected to exit bankruptcy this month after filing for Chapter 11 in November. The company aims to shed $4 billion in debt and receive $450 in fresh financing. Most of that is coming from Yardi Systems.
The company plans to keep 170 locations open in the U.S. in Canada and 337 open abroad. U.S. cities where WeWork is re-signing leases include Denver, Houston, San Francisco, Washington D.C., Seattle and Salt Lake City.
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“Maintaining a presence in Chicago and at 448 North LaSalle Street is important for WeWork as we enter this next chapter. This new agreement better positions WeWork to provide top-notch products, services and spaces to our members in this market and we look forward to doing so for years to come,” a statement from WeWork read.