HOUSTON – (Realty News Report) – WeWork has retained Transwestern Real Estate Services as part of a broader strategy to attract midsize and larger corporate tenants to its flexible office locations.
“While WeWork will remain a home for anyone looking for a single desk, we are dedicated to accommodating the needs of midsize to larger tenants as well,” said Jeff Bodenman, Texas Portfolio Director at WeWork. “We are incredibly enthusiastic about partnering with Transwestern on this endeavor.”
WeWork’s push to secure larger corporate clients is being implemented across multiple markets. Partnering with established commercial real estate firms allows WeWork to extend its reach into corporate leasing channels and pursue tenants with more substantial space requirements.
The Dallas Morning News reported that WeWork retained JLL to lease its eight coworking locations in the Dallas area, which total 517,583 square feet.
In Houston, Transwestern will lead leasing efforts for 298,751 square feet of WeWork office space across four buildings in the Downtown, Galleria and The Woodlands submarkets. Transwestern’s Agency Leasing team will target tenants seeking between 1,000 and 60,000 square feet.
WeWork can offer up to 50,000 contiguous square feet in Houston and currently has availability at these properties: Downtown’s 609 Main and The Jones Building at 708 Main; Galleria Office Tower I at 2700 Post Oak Boulevard; and 1725 Hughes Landing in The Woodlands.
“We are excited to partner with WeWork to offer the ultimate flexibility and convenience in office space, giving tenants the opportunity to grow, shrink, densify or de-densify for terms of one to 10 years,” said Kristen Baker, Leasing Associate at Transwestern. “Additionally, these spaces include high-quality furniture, cabling and internet at competitive rental rates.”
The global coworking sector was hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. WeWork, an early leader in the market, scaled back operations and closed a number of locations while reducing staff as demand for traditional office space declined.
WeWork reported that, as of December 2020, it exited 106 pre-open or underperforming locations and completed more than 100 lease amendments to reduce future obligations through rent reductions, deferrals or tenant improvement allowances, resulting in an estimated $4.0 billion reduction in future lease payments. After these strategic exits, WeWork retained substantial scale with 851 locations in 152 cities and more than one million workstations worldwide, the company said in a recent report.
WeWork also announced an agreement to merge with BowX Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). The transaction will result in WeWork becoming a publicly traded company with an initial enterprise value of $9 billion and is expected to provide approximately $1.3 billion in cash to support future growth plans. WeWork’s earlier attempt to go public was unsuccessful, and the company subsequently underwent significant downsizing following the pandemic’s impact on the office market.
Founded in 2010 to create work environments where people and companies can do their best work, WeWork operates globally with hundreds of locations across multiple countries. The company lists notable tenants that include a mix of regional and global firms.
April 8, 2021 Realty News Report Copyright 2021
File: WeWork Hires Transwestern in New Strategy to Attract Larger Tenants
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Photo courtesy Transwestern