Los Angeles Leads Nation in Coworking Offices

Greater Los Angeles has more coworking offices than any city in the nation — with more shared offices in the pipeline.

The L.A. region had 304 coworking locations in the first quarter, up from 292 in the prior period, L.A. Business First reported, citing a report from CoworkingCafe, part of the Yardi network.

The runner-up for the most coworking workplaces among major metropolitan areas was Washington, D.C., with 286.

The amount of office space allocated for coworking in greater Los Angeles hit more than 6.8 million square feet, with a typical office at 22,400 square feet.

The median price for open coworking workplaces in L.A. surged to $185 a month, from $160 the quarter before, a nearly 16 percent increase.

At the same time, the price of dedicated desks dropped $5, bringing the monthly cost to $365.

In Orange County, workers aren’t as apt to work with strangers.

OC had a 4 percent drop in coworking office space to 2.3 million square feet in the first quarter compared to the last three months of the fourth quarter, with a 3.3 percent loss in average office size. The county also lost one coworking office, now at 117.

At the same time, a typical price for open workspaces and dedicated desks in OC became more affordable, falling by $30 to $119, and $20 to $319, respectively.

Most coworking markets across the nation saw workspace growth. There were 7,840 coworking offices in the U.S. last quarter, up 2 percent from late last year.

The growth was fueled by “both maturing urban hubs and emerging second-tier markets,” with 34 of the 50 markets with increases in coworking inventory, according to the CoworkingCafe report.

Last month, New York-based Industrious announced it would occupy 16,000 square feet of coworking offices in Beverly Hills. A year earlier, the firm just acquired by CBRE inked a lease for 19,000 square feet of offices in Century City, after expanding in Westwood and Santa Monica.

The formerly bankrupt WeWork has negotiated 17 lease assumptions in Orange County and Los Angeles since , a spokesperson for WeWork told The Real Deal, including adding West Hollywood and Downtown Los Angeles to its coworking roster.

Codi, a San Francisco rival to bankrupt WeWork, also opened 36 flex offices in Santa Monica, Culver City and Los Angeles, with more than 50 locations in the pipeline.

— Dana Bartholomew

Correction: This story was edited to reflect that WeWork is formerly bankrupt and that the company negotiated 17 lease assumptions in Orange County and Los Angeles a year ago.