WeWork Plans To Reject 4 DFW Leases Next Month
WeWork is planning to pull out of four unexpired leases in North Texas as the reckoning continues amid the coworking giant's bankruptcy saga.
WeWork has failed to restructure lease terms at Williams Square in Irving, Victory Park in Dallas, Legacy Town Center in Plano and Legacy West in Plano, according to a Sunday filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey. A fifth Common Desk location is under management review and slated for rejection.
In the absence of new agreements with landlords, the firm will reject those leases on May 20, a WeWork spokesperson told Bisnow.
“Our intention is to stay in as many buildings in Dallas as possible under economic terms that position all parties for a sustainable future,” the spokesperson said. “Unfortunately, we have been unable to reach agreements with a small number of our landlords, and it is therefore prudent that we plan for other outcomes, which may include exits.”
WeWork filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November. Since then, it has worked to reduce its rent burden by renegotiating or exiting hundreds of leases.
WeWork is in the homestretch of that process, having reached outcomes for 90% of its 500 global locations, the spokesperson told Bisnow. The closures and changes to lease terms it has already completed will save WeWork more than $8B in future rent commitments, or more than 40% of its total rent costs, the firm said in a release earlier this month.
The company has spent the last several months working on deals with landlords in Dallas but must plan for rejections as a worst-case scenario ahead of its planned bankruptcy exit at the end of next month, the WeWork spokesperson said.
A representative for KBS Realty Advisors, which owns Legacy Town Center, said talks with WeWork are ongoing but declined to comment on the specifics.
“We are in active negotiations with WeWork and [are] hopeful for a positive resolution,” the KBS spokesperson said.
A rep for Hillwood, which co-owns Williams Square, wasn't available to comment. Asana Partners, which owns the Victory Park location, didn't respond to Bisnow’s inquiries.
WeWork is also looking to reject a management agreement at 3309 Elm St. in Dallas. That location is operated by Common Desk, a Dallas-based coworking firm WeWork acquired in 2022.
There are three additional North Texas locations that aren't on the rejection list, and lease talks are ongoing at those properties. The WeWork spokesperson declined to provide any additional details about those proceedings.
