WeWork Files to Keep Two More SoCal Leases

Property by property, WeWork (WE) is clawing to maintain its presence in Southern California as it works its way out of bankruptcy.

The beleaguered coworking space provider filed a motion to keep two more of its properties in the region, subject to court approval — at The Hubb at 100 West Broadway in Long Beach, and two floors at Park Tower at 695 Town Center Drive in Costa Mesa in Orange County.

It was not immediately clear how much space WeWork had at each of the locations. 

“We are grateful to our landlords for working with us on these mutually beneficial agreements, which position these buildings to meet the rising demand for flexible work in Southern California,” a WeWork spokesperson told Commercial Observer via email.

The company also simultaneously filed to keep seven other leases across the country and in British Columbia, Canada. Those properties are at 379 West Broadway in Manhattan; 195 Montague Street in Brooklyn; 1 Belvedere Place in Mill Valley, Calif.; Clearfork in Fort Worth, Texas; Sunset North in Bellevue, Wash.; 1099 Stewart Street in Seattle; and at Bentall II in Vancouver, B.C.

The motions come at a precarious time for WeWork. 

The company announced Monday that it secured $450 million in financing, along with a restructuring deal that would help it shed $4 billion in debt obligations, to help it exit Chapter 11 bankruptcy by the end of next month. Most of that funding, $337 million, comes from real estate tech company Yardi Systems, with the remaining funds coming from a gaggle of bondholders. The deal leaves out co-founder and former CEO Adam Neumann, who, through his new venture Flow, had offered to buy the company back for between $600 million and 900 million.

In mid-March, WeWork filed to keep another large lease in Los Angeles, at 10250 Constellation Boulevard, dubbed Constellation Place, along with seven others across the U.S. and Canada. The company previously offered leasing on nearly 90,000 square feet of space at the 35-story tower in Century City, according to a leasing brochure for the tower. 

Meanwhile, the co-working giant has dumped 80 of its global leases during its bankruptcy process, including at Downtown L.A.’s Gas Company Tower. The company claims to have avoided $8 billion in future rent payments throughout its bankruptcy by getting out of leases. 

Nick Trombola can be reached at ntrombola@commercialobserver.com.