WeWork Signs 60 KSF Lease in Lower Manhattan

WeWork has signed a 60,000-square-foot lease with AmTrust Realty to occupy five floors at 250 Broadway in Lower Manhattan.

The flex office space provider is planning to open a coworking location on levels 24, 25, 27, 28 and 29 by December.

CBRE represented the ownership in the transaction, while JLL worked on behalf of the tenant. The leasing agreement marks the first such transaction WeWork has signed in New York City since leaving bankruptcy last year. The company currently operates over 3 million square feet of flex space across New York City.

Amenities at the future flex office space will include a coworking lounge, collaborative meeting rooms and private offices, as well as a wellness room and mothers’ room. This lease coincides with WeWork’s plans to invest between $80 million and 100 million in its global portfolio this year.

Most recently, the company opened a 45,000-square-foot flex office in Miami, at Pontegadea’s 1.2 million-square-foot Southeast Financial Center, marking the first coworking location in the city since 2019.

The 1960s 250 Broadway

Completed in 1964, 250 Broadway is a 31-story, 541,195-square-foot office building with floorplates ranging between 3,300 and 26,300 square feet, according to Yardi Research Data. AmTrust acquired the asset in 1997 from Sarakreek USA for $31.7 million, or approximately $58 per square foot, the same data provider shows.

The New York City Housing Authority, the New York City Council, law firm Rose & Rose and Pollack, Pollack, Isaac & DeCicco LLP are among the property’s tenants, with the first one occupying more than 350,000 square feet at the office building, according to the same source.

The office building is adjacent to City Hall Park and the Brooklyn Bridge, as well as near several subway stations and the World Trade Center. WeWork has three other coworking spaces within half-a-mile of 250 Broadway, at 115 and 222 Broadway, and 199 Water St.

CBRE Senior Vice Presidents Anne Holker, Michael Rizzo and Alex Benisatto, together with Executive Vice President Brad Gerla, arranged the lease signing on behalf of AmTrust. JLL President & Chairman Peter Riguardi, Executive Managing Director Clark Finney, Director Alexander Riguardi and Dana Goldman represented WeWork’s Head of Global Real Estate Peter Greenspan and Senior Director Whitney Anderson in the transaction.

As of May, Manhattan posted the highest full-service equivalent listing rates, with an average of $68.08 per square foot, more than double the national figure of $33.15, according to the latest Yardi Matrix office report. The borough’s rates reflect a 4.5 percent drop compared to the same time last year. During the same month, Manhattan’s office vacancy dropped to 15.7 percent, down 50 basis points year-over-year, while the national rate stood at 19.4 percent, marking a 160-basis-point increase from May 2024.