Cowork|rs opens fifth location in New York City

US co-working provider Cowork|rs is planning to open a second space in Brooklyn that becomes its fifth location in New York City. This WeWork rival is capitalising on the growing demand for co-working rental space within the area.

Cowork|rs, a co-working space provider that is part of a pack of upstarts in a fast-growing industry dominated by the $15 billion coworking giant WeWork, is adding a location in in Brooklyn.

The company has signed a 20-year lease at 839 Broadway, a three-story building in Bushwick, for roughly 30,000 square feet. Asking rents at the building are in the $30s per square foot. The property abuts the elevated J/M/Z subway line. It will be Cowork|rs’s fifth outpost in the city and its second in Brooklyn.

Earlier this year, Cowork|rs opened a new facility in a former tile-manufacturing plant in Gowanus that drew attention for its chic aesthetic. The space features the building’s industrial-era brick walls and wood-beam ceilings. The company also added eye-catching elements—a new staircase made of giant, angular sheets of cobalt-blue steel—to its space.

Shlomo Silber, Cowork|rs chief executive and founder, said the Bushwick location will be just as hip.

“We’re doing a really cool rooftop concept where we’re going to have a huge outdoor deck,” Silber said. “In the rest of the building, we’re leaving the exposed wood ceilings and the brick walls and restoring its character.”

It will cost millions of dollars to fix up the run-down Bushwick property, Silber estimated. Cowork|rs will split the cost with the building’s landlord, Deergrow Developments. The location will likely open in early 2018, Silber said.

The demand for office space in Bushwick has grown as the area has become a magnet for both artists and office tenants. Companies have sought to relocate to the neighborhood in order to tap into its creative vibe and talent pool.

"We’re not catering to people who live in Manhattan with this space," Silber said. "The idea is there’s a growing population in the immediate area that is looking for a shared-office environment like this."

Outside of Brooklyn, Cowork|rs has three offices in Manhattan, one on East 23rd Street and two in lower Manhattan.