Convene Opens 32 KSF SoHo Location

Flex office provider Convene Hospitality Group has opened its 16th location in Manhattan’s SoHo neighborhood, at Empire State Realty Trust’ 555 Broadway. The meeting and event space spans 32,000 square feet across the entire second floor of the office property.

Designed by Mario + Kroft, the venue can house up to 450 individuals. Amenities include customizable spaces, breakout rooms, a boardroom, on-site hospitality team and in-house catering services.

Looking ahead in terms of coworking trends, this year stresses demand across the sector, but also reliability. Flex office operators are increasingly exploring network reach and repeatable experience standard, especially since hybrid work has become the norm. Network depth is meant to reach distributed teams, while consistency across the 2026 landscape creates predictable service standards.

As of February, Manhattan’s average office listing rates clocked in at $73.45 per square foot, marking a 6.6 percent increase year-over-year, according to a Yardi Matrix report. During the same month, the borough’s vacancy rate experienced a sharp 330-basis-point drop to 13.1 percent, second only to Miami’s 12.8 percent.

Zooming in on 555 Broadway

In December 2025, Empire State Realty Trust acquired 555 Broadway and the adjacent 557 Broadway in a portfolio transaction, for a total of $386 million. Publishing house Scholastic Inc. sold the assets in an all-cash transaction.

Originally completed in 1889 to serve as a department store for dry goods, 555 Broadway was converted into an office building in 1998 and underwent complete renovations in 1994 and 2015. The property still includes 36,760 square feet of ground-floor retail space.

Though Convene manages a total of 38 spaces across nine cities in the U.S. and the U.K., the majority of locations are in Manhattan. Two offices are in the Financial District, one in Battery Park, one in Hudson Yards and several in Midtown East and Midtown West.