WeWork Leases Entire Office Space at 149 Madison Ave.
Columbia Property Trust’s third lease with the co-working office provider foreshadows more WeWork expansion in Midtown South.
NEW YORK CITY—WeWork has leased the entire boutique office space, totaling 115,000 square feet, at Columbia Property Trust’s 12-story building at 149 Madison Ave.
The lease for the NoMad building began on Oct. 18, 2018. Columbia is working with its tenant on renovations, modernizing the infrastructure and updating amenities. The redeveloped building is expected to open in 2019. It will include 6,600 square feet of ground-floor retail with corner frontage on Madison Avenue and E. 32nd Street. Columbia is currently in discussions with several retailers to rent the space.
“With 149 Madison, we saw a unique opportunity to create a custom-designed, boutique building that would provide a differentiated experience for tenants,” says Nelson Mills, Columbia’s CEO. The REIT owns six office properties in Midtown, totaling 1.7 million leasable square feet, plus one building under development. Including this latest lease which is its third with WeWork, Columbia’s portfolio is 98% leased.
WeWork notes that it’s seeing strong demand in the NoMad neighborhood. The company’s chief development officer, Granit Gjonbalaj, says Midtown South “is an area that continues to attract innovative and creative companies of all shapes and sizes, and we’re committed to expanding our presence within it.”
Brian Waterman, Scott Klau and Erik Harris of Newmark Knight Frank represented Columbia.