WeWork Leases 29,000 SF at 160 Varick St.

NEW YORK CITY—WeWork has leased 29,000 square feet, the third floor at 160 Varick St. and expects to open the location to one of its members in the third quarter of 2019. In May 2016, Hines acquired a 1% interest in an 11-building portfolio jointly owned by Trinity Church Wall Street and Norges Bank. Hines became the operating partner for the assets, which included the 12-story, 349,720 square-foot building at 160 Varick St., which was originally constructed in 1929.

The church maintained a 51% majority stake in the property, and the bank agreed to hold a 49% interest for the duration of the 75-year ownership agreement, according to Real Estate Weekly.

“Located at the intersection of Soho and Greenwich Village,160 Varick will add to our considerable presence in the area, where we continue to see exceptional demand from companies wanting to be a part of the WeWork community,” says Granit Gjonbalaj, the company’s chief real estate development officer.

Michael Schoen of Savitt Partners represented WeWork in the lease, and Hines did not use a broker for the transaction.

WeWork has already become the largest private office tenant in New York City. When asked about planned future growth in Manhattan for next year, a WeWork spokesperson tells GlobeSt.com that the co-working office provider has doubled or nearly doubled its footprint every year. He adds the company has no reason to believe that next year would be any different.

As reported in GlobeSt.com, WeWork has gone far beyond start-up entrepreneurs. After the 2016 launch of its Entrepreneur program for organizations with more than 1,000 employees, this segment has expanded to more than 25% of the company’s membership base. It has become the fastest growing membership category.

GlobeSt.com’s David Wilkening noted established industry giants including GE, Microsoft, Samsung, GM and Spotify have become WeWork members. Most real estate firms are now thinking part of their portfolios should contain non-traditional, flexible or co-working offices, said Moinian Group’s SVP, director of leasing Gregg Weisser at the last RealShare New York conference.