WeWork Signs Full-Floor Lease Near Union Station
WeWork is entering a new D.C. neighborhood as part of its continued expansion throughout the District.
The coworking provider signed a 24,565 SF lease for the seventh floor of Republic Properties' 660 North Capitol St. NW in NoMa. JLL's Zach Boroson, Andy O'Brien and Greg Lubar represented WeWork.
The lease represents WeWork's fifth new D.C. deal since December. It signed on for 110K SF at Midtown Center earlier this month and leased over 100K SF at 1701 Rhode Island Ave. NW in February. In December, WeWork signed a 66,500 SF lease with The Meridian Group near Mount Vernon Square, and its property arm partnered with the developer to buy a Dupont Circle building where it plans to open a 100K SF space.
While the four previous deals will expand WeWork's footprint in neighborhoods where it already has a presence, the latest deal represents its entrance into a new submarket. The 660 North Capitol building sits one block from Union Station on the southern edge of the NoMa neighborhood. WeWork's closest existing location is about 1 mile away, a 32K SF space on the H Street corridor at 810 Seventh St. NE.
The coworking provider saw the location of 660 North Capitol, less than a mile from the U.S. Capitol, as an opportunity to attract companies that work with Congress.
"As we expand our commitment to D.C., 660 North Capitol is the perfect opportunity to establish our presence in the heart of Capitol Hill," WeWork Mid-Atlantic and Northeast General Manager Lex Miller said in an emailed statement. "At the intersection of Union Station and Capitol Hill, this location will allow us to continue building our member base of law firms and government affairs offices."
The new WeWork will be the third coworking space in NoMa after Spaces, which opened in Uline Arena in 2017, and District Workspaces at 10 G St. NE. Those two spaces are largely filled, NoMa BID President Robin-Eve Jasper said, so she was not surprised to see WeWork enter the market.
"It only makes sense for WeWork to be opening there," Jasper said. "I think it's a demonstration of how many smart, entrepreneurial people are living and working in the area."
Republic broke ground speculatively on the 200K SF building at 660 North Capitol in 2014 as the second phase of its Republic Square project. In 2015, it signed the National Association of Counties and the National League of Cities for a joint, 78K SF lease.
