WeWork Leases 258,344 SF at 21 Penn Plaza
In addition to signing a 70,000 square-foot lease in the Plaza District, this week the collaborative workspace provider rented expansive space from TH Real Estate on the Far West Side.
NEW YORK CITY—TH Real Estate, an affiliate of Nuveen, the investment management arm of TIAA, has leased 10 floors, 258,344 square feet at 368 Ninth Ave. to WeWork. The co-working space company will use the third through sixth, ninth, 11th through 12th, and 15th through 17th floors, creating private office spaces, workstations, conference and meeting rooms, event spaces and other facilities.
Located at the southeast corner of Ninth Avenue and W. 31st St., the 17-story office building is close to Hudson Yards and Penn Station. The renting of this space was announced on the same day that WeWork informed the media about its 70,000 square-foot lease at 880 Third Ave. at the Jack Resnick & Sons’ Plaza District office tower.
“TH Real Estate purchased this property with the intention of redeveloping an underutilized asset into a Class A asset with amenities,” says Nadir Settles, managing director, senior regional head, NY office investments at TH Real Estate. “WeWork’s creative concept attracts high-level tenants, and we look forward to extending our relationship with them through this lease.”
Earlier this year, TH Real Estate also rented a London office building, Devonshire Square, to the behemoth co-working space provider.
Granit Gjonbalaj, chief development officer at WeWork, says the lease at 21 Penn Plaza will further enhance its relationship with TH Real Estate. “We are tremendously excited about bringing the WeWork community to this area, which is increasingly attracting some of the country’s leading companies, and quickly transforming into one of New York’s leading business hubs,” says Gjonbalaj.
In November 2014, for $243.4 million, TIAA-CREF purchased the 375,000 square-foot building constructed in 1931, from a Savanna and Feil Organization joint venture, according to Real Capital Analytics. That joint venture in October 2011 had bought 21 Penn Plaza from GHG Realty for $137.5 million, according to the database records.
In another deal of extensive office space, WeWork has agreed to lease 225,000 square feet at the Brooklyn Navy Yard’s Dock 72. That 675,000 square-foot development is scheduled to open this winter.