Heavy-hitters in the Tampa Bay real estate industry say co-working space giant WeWork’s impending arrival in the market is yet another sign of the region’s ongoing transformation into a top tier metropolitan area.
Last week, New York-based WeWork announced plans to open a co-working space in Tampa in the Spring of 2020. The 50,000-square-foot location will occupy two floors of the Heights Union mixed-use development planned at 2002 N. Tampa St. WeWork says the space will serve more than 800 of its member businesses.
“WeWork is thrilled to call Tampa our newest home in the Sunshine State as we plant our roots in historic Tampa Heights,” Bobby Condon, the Southeast General Manager for WeWork, says in a news statement. “We’re always searching for strategic locations where our members can seamlessly live, work and play, and WeWork at The Heights development will be uniquely poised to provide that experience. WeWork is committed to supporting the growth and revitalization of downtown Tampa, and we look forward to expanding our footprint throughout the city in the years to come.”
The Armature Works developers are also helming the Heights Union project, which includes 300,000 square feet of office space spread across two buildings. It’s another piece of the redevelopment along the riverfront and the city’s ongoing urban boom.
During a discussion at the Urban Land Institute Tampa Bay’s Real Estate Trends Conference at the Armature Works last Wednesday, developers behind Water Street Tampa and Midtown Tampa, two other large-scale mixed-use projects that will include office space, said the arrival of a major player like WeWork showed the growing national interest in Tampa. It also filled a need in the commercial real estate market, says Nicholas Haines, the CEO of Midtown Tampa developer the Bromley Companies,
“I see co-working as the service side of real estate, making it easier for tenants to access commercial real estate,” Haines says. “It will be part of Midtown Tampa too. It is a fundamental part of real estate.”
Camille Renshaw, CEO and co-Founder of real estate brokerage firm B+E Net Lease, says WeWork and the continued growth of co-working could “transform the office real estate market” in Tampa
WeWork started in New York City in 2010 and currently provides more than 400,000 member businesses worldwide with office space and services at more than 425 locations in 27 countries and more than 100 cities.
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