Shared office and coworking spaces are booming in D.C.'s densely populated commercial real estate market, especially given the transient nature of the area's workforce. With so many spaces coming online this year, and more than 80 District coworking locations spanning 2.3 million square feet, it can be overwhelming to stay abreast of new developments.
Fear not. We rounded up recent news on coworking ventures as they continue popping up all over Greater Washington.
WeWork is by far and wide the fastest-growing local provider. Most recently, it leased a full building at 1701 Rhode Island Ave. NW following its purchase of 1333 New Hampshire Ave. The industry giant is also planning another location at Meridian at Anthem Row, which will be its 16th venue in the metro area.
This week, Premier Workspaces boosted its footprint with a lease on the fifth floor of 2001 L St. NW. Premier has locations in 54 U.S. cities, and this will be its second D.C. location, following the Homer Building on 13th Street NW. The new digs will offer two conference rooms and 80 private offices, ranging from 84 to 290 square feet. It is expected to be move-in ready by August.
Last week, Chicago-based Novel Coworking acquired an entire office building in Dupont Circle, paying $73.6 million for the 12-story structure. The deal makes it the second full D.C. building to sell to a shared-workspace provider. Novel, which also has locations in Alexandria, Richmond and two dozen other cities, plans to renovate the building and has started pre-leasing space for private offices and coworking members.
Days earlier, San Diego-based CommonGrounds Workplace, a fledgling coworking provider, leased its first District locations as part of a national expansion. The move follows its $100 million Series A round in January that's fueling the workplace-as-a-service company's push into about 50 new venues. One spot is 1500 K St. NW at McPherson Square, which is expected to open in early 2020, and the other is 99 M St. SE near Nationals Park.
Meanwhile, Philadelphia-based incubator and coworking network 1776, originally founded in the District, is opening a new venue in North Bethesda, Md. The 15,000-square-foot coworking and office space at the Greencourt Innovation Center will open this winter and will be modeled after its Pennovation Center at the University of Pennsylvania, where it manages the space for the building owner instead of leasing it directly. The move comes as 1776 prepares to close its Crystal City location and open a new one in D.C.
