WeWork Has Closed Its 86K SF 'Charging Bull' Location Near Wall Street

WeWork has shut down one of its older locations in lower Manhattan as it continues to winnow its footprint.

The coworking company closed its 86K SF space at 25 Broadway, a spokesperson for the company confirmed to Bisnow. The company exited what it once called the "WeWork Charging Bull" location as part of the company’s ongoing efforts to achieve profitability by shrinking its portfolio nationwide.

“WeWork has continued to optimize its global real estate portfolio as a part of the company’s plan to achieve profitability,” a WeWork spokesperson told Bisnow earlier this month. The company declined additional comment.

WeWork signed a 20-year lease to occupy the space across two floors while the company was expanding in 2013, The Real Deal reported at the time. It received a year of free rent and paid between the low $30s and $40 per square foot. 

“With an abundance of supply in our markets, we have been able to rightsize our footprint while also ensuring our members can continue to access first-class flex office space,” the spokesperson said. 

WeWork CEO Sandeep Mathrani told Bisnow in July that 85% of its locations are profitable, and that the company was working with landlords of the remainder to find a solution that was a “win-win” for both parties. WeWork is on pace to be profitable by the end of 2021, Mathrani said in January. 

The company was founded in New York in 2010 and grew to become the city's largest private office tenant before it started cutting back on space. It has previously confirmed it would be closing down operations at several other Manhattan locations, at 261 Madison Ave., 404 Fifth Ave., 428 Broadway, 1 Little West 12th St. and 205 East 42nd St.

It has followed a similar pattern in other major markets around the country, including the first market to which it expanded, Washington, D.C., where it has closed seven locations.

It is far from the only flexible office provider to go through a rethinking or restructuring. Knotel has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and could be taken over by Newmark and Breather closed all 400 of its locations.