Industrious Balloons to 292K SF at Kato International’s Tower 49

Now that’s a big flex!

Coworking firm Industrious will expand its presence at Kato International’s Tower 49 from 240,000 square feet across 16 floors to 291,600 square feet across 18 floors, with the landlord declaring the tower is now the largest flexible office location in the world.

Industrious originally established its partnership with Kato to develop and operate the Midtown coworking space in June 2024, after WeWork was able to get out of its 300,000-square-foot lease obligations in the building. WeWork’s departure was part of its Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, which were coming to an end around the time.

The new deal adds 51,600 square feet and puts Industrious in charge of almost half of the 600,000-square-foot office building at 12 East 49th Street in a redevelopment initiative prompted by the landlord. The location will become Industrious’ Midtown flagship.

“This expansion builds on the momentum already underway at Tower 49,” Robert Bakst, asset manager and exclusive agent of Kato, said in a statement. “By bringing together best-in-class partners and investing at scale, we are strengthening the building’s position in Midtown and creating long-term value for tenants and ownership.”

Industrious will operate workspaces, conference rooms and convention spaces across 18 floors of the midblock building on 49th Street between Madison and Fifth avenues, including two new amenity floors, according to the landlord. In addition, the 24th floor will be “reimagined” as a social lounge for the entire building and will include showers, a parenting suite, and event and programming spaces. Industrious’ redevelopment at the property is set to be completed by the fourth quarter of this year.

“This is the most ambitious project we’ve ever taken on,” Gentry Long, newly promoted president of Industrious, said in a statement. “Operating at this scale lets us fully invest in what a workplace can be — high-tech meeting spaces, new kinds of amenities, and on-site services that raise the bar for hospitality. This level of ambition only works with a partner like Kato. At Tower 49, we’re showing what can happen when an owner and operator are aligned on fully reinvesting in a Midtown office experience.”

Similar partnership deals struck between the landlord and service providers at Tower 49 include ​​Bonetti Kozerski Architecture, architecture firm MdeAS Architects, branding firm Mucca, and hospitality advisory firm Friend of Chef, which provides food and beverage options for workers at the building.

Mark Hallum can be reached at mhallum@commercialobserver.com.