WeWork’s availability rate in New York City is more than 20 percent — or nearly double Manhattan’s overall rate, adding to the beleaguered co-working giant’s problems.
The firm has some 1.9 million square feet of space in New York that’s either available or will become so in the coming months, according to Business Insider, which obtained leaked marketing materials. That’s more than 20 percent of WeWork’s portfolio in the city, and far exceeds the availability rate in Manhattan of 12.1 percent in June.
A WeWork spokesperson declined to comment to Business Insider. But observers said the large portfolio of available space is a result of WeWork’s rapid expansion in recent years and slow demand during the coronavirus shutdown.
“If people are already working from home, why would you spend the money on a WeWork location right now,” Baker Hostetler real estate attorney Dennis Russo said. “Why spend it? It makes no sense.”
Large availabilities include more than 210,000 square feet at 620 Sixth Avenue and nearly 170,000 square feet at WeWork’s global headquarters at 115 West 18th Street, both available in January.
The news comes about a week after WeWork chairman Marcelo Claure said the company plans to turn a profit by 2021. [BI] — Rich Bockmann
Contact Rich Bockmann at rb@therealdeal.com or 908-415-5229