Coworking Titan Plans Sizable Expansion In Chicago Suburbs

Coworking company IWG plans to add 21 new locations across Illinois, most of them in Chicago and its surrounding suburbs, banking on shifting office needs pushing more users toward flexible workspaces. 

The Switzerland-based company, which operates the Regus, Spaces, HQ and Signature coworking brands, will add the new offices to its collection of 64 locations already operating across the state, the company announced Tuesday.

“With important business hubs across the state, Illinois is a fantastic place for us to boost our expansion plans,” Mark Dixon, CEO and founder of IWG, said in a press release. “Our workplace model is also proven to increase productivity and allows for a business to scale up or down at significantly reduced costs.”

IWG will look to avoid the fate of coworking competitor WeWork, whose all-in bet on the future of the workplace caused it to go broke under the weight of lengthy leases. WeWork filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection earlier this month. 

Over the past year, IWG has added 600 locations globally and 300 across the U.S., according to a press release. It now has about 4,000 locations in more than 120 countries, according to Crain’s Chicago Business. The company has opened four new locations in Chicago this year.

IWG’s expansion plan differs from competitors in its focus on the suburbs, where coworking has been slower to catch on than in downtowns, according to Crain’s. 

IWG said it will open a Regus location in Westmont and an HQ location in Frankfort early next year, Crain’s reported. Other offices are slated to open later in the year in Arlington Heights, Downers Grove, Elgin, Libertyville, Lisle, Lombard, Naperville, Oakbrook Terrace, St. Charles and Vernon Hills. 

An IWG spokeswoman told Crain’s the company will build a portion of the new locations, while others will open in previous coworking spaces other operators closed.