WeWork has five locations in Denver and one in Boulder, including in the Circa building at 1615 Platte St. (BusinessDen file)
WeWork’s uncertain future — highlighted by a recent disclosure in a regulatory filing — could cause more pain to Denver’s already-struggling office market.
Despite recent cuts to its local footprint, the New York-based coworking company still operates in about 300,000 square feet across five locations in the Mile High City, according to a BusinessDen analysis. The vast majority of that space is downtown.
The once-high-flying coworking brand struck deal after deal in Denver in the latter part of the last decade, as the company marched toward a valuation of $47 billion. By mid-2019, the company had leased some 850,000 square feet across a dozen Denver buildings.
WeWork ultimately never opened several of those planned locations, and it closed three that did get up and running in 2021. In recent months, the company has closed yet another Denver location and downsized two others.
Earlier this month, meanwhile, WeWork — now public with a market cap under $300 million as of Tuesday — warned of “substantial doubt” regarding its ability to stay in business.
“As a result of our losses and our projected cash needs, which have been impacted by the recent increases in member churn, combined with our current liquidity level, substantial doubt exists about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern,” the company wrote in an Aug. 8 regulatory filing.
A WeWork spokeswoman described the disclosure as “a technical accounting determination,” and noted the company also laid out a general plan in the same filing to address the situation.
That plan, however, could come at the expense of landlords. In addition to reducing member churn and other goals, the company said it is working on “reducing rent and tenancy expense by taking additional restructuring actions and negotiating more favorable lease terms.”
Here is a look at the company’s current and historic footprint in Denver and Boulder, where WeWork also operates one location.
Locations that are still open, ranked by size
Tabor Center, 1200 17th St., Denver
Square footage: 105,000 (five floors)
Landlord: Beacon Capital Partners
Notes: WeWork previously leased seven floors in Tabor Center, but the company recently struck a deal to give back two of them. Once fully executed, that will leave the company with about 105,000 square feet. The location opened in 2018.
Triangle Building, 1550 WeWatta St., Denver
Square footage: 72,000 (three floors)
Landlord: Union Investment
Notes: This was WeWork’s inaugural Denver location, opening in 2016.
Circa, 1615 Platte St., Denver
Square footage: 60,000 (two floors)
Landlord: Beacon Capital Partners
Notes: This building is next to The Lab, where WeWork also once operated.
Wells Fargo Center, 1700 Lincoln St., Denver
Square footage: 50,000 (two floors)
Landlord: Brookfield Properties
Notes: WeWork previously had five floors in the downtown tower, which has floor plates of about 25,000 square feet. But the company told BusinessDen last month that it had reached a deal with Brookfield to drop three of the floors. The location opened in 2019.
Canyon 28, 2755 Canyon Blvd., Boulder
Square footage: 30,000
Landlord: LJD Enterprises Inc.
Notes: WeWork’s only Colorado location outside Denver opened in 2019.
Financial House, 205 Detroit St., Denver
Square footage: 18,000 (one floor)
Landlord: Everwest Real Estate Investors
Notes: This location in Cherry Creek is WeWork’s only in Denver outside the downtown core. The lease was signed in 2018.
Locations that have closed
The Lab, 2420 17th St., Denver: WeWork closed this 50,000-square-foot location for good earlier this summer, after briefly closing it in early 2021. It has since been sued by its landlord, Blackrock, for unpaid rent.
The Vault, 821 17th St., Denver: WeWork leased 73,000 square feet and closed it in 2021 before fully building out all the floors.
The Hub, 3601 Walnut St., Denver: WeWork leased 45,000 square feet and closed it in 2021.
Civic Center Plaza, 1560 Broadway, Denver: WeWork leased 61,000 square feet and closed it in 2021.
Locations that were leased but never opened
2323 Delgany St., Denver: WeWork announced it had leased this 85,000-square-foot building in 2019. It sued its landlord in 2021; the litigation was settled the next year. The building was later leased to television station Denver7.
Rev360, 3600 Brighton Blvd., Denver: WeWork leased two floors (about 60,000 square feet) in this building in 2018, before it even broke ground. It reached a deal to get out of the lease by late 2020, when the still-vacant building was finished.
1660 Lincoln St., Denver: WeWork leased approximately 50,000 square feet across four floors in 2019 but terminated the lease months later, around the time the company’s initial attempt to go public fell apart.
WeWork has five locations in Denver and one in Boulder, including in the Circa building at 1615 Platte St. (BusinessDen file)
WeWork’s uncertain future — highlighted by a recent disclosure in a regulatory filing — could cause more pain to Denver’s already-struggling office market.
Despite recent cuts to its local footprint, the New York-based coworking company still operates in about 300,000 square feet across five locations in the Mile High City, according to a BusinessDen analysis. The vast majority of that space is downtown.
The once-high-flying coworking brand struck deal after deal in Denver in the latter part of the last decade, as the company marched toward a valuation of $47 billion. By mid-2019, the company had leased some 850,000 square feet across a dozen Denver buildings.
WeWork ultimately never opened several of those planned locations, and it closed three that did get up and running in 2021. In recent months, the company has closed yet another Denver location and downsized two others.
Earlier this month, meanwhile, WeWork — now public with a market cap under $300 million as of Tuesday — warned of “substantial doubt” regarding its ability to stay in business.
“As a result of our losses and our projected cash needs, which have been impacted by the recent increases in member churn, combined with our current liquidity level, substantial doubt exists about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern,” the company wrote in an Aug. 8 regulatory filing.
A WeWork spokeswoman described the disclosure as “a technical accounting determination,” and noted the company also laid out a general plan in the same filing to address the situation.
That plan, however, could come at the expense of landlords. In addition to reducing member churn and other goals, the company said it is working on “reducing rent and tenancy expense by taking additional restructuring actions and negotiating more favorable lease terms.”
Here is a look at the company’s current and historic footprint in Denver and Boulder, where WeWork also operates one location.
Locations that are still open, ranked by size
Tabor Center, 1200 17th St., Denver
Square footage: 105,000 (five floors)
Landlord: Beacon Capital Partners
Notes: WeWork previously leased seven floors in Tabor Center, but the company recently struck a deal to give back two of them. Once fully executed, that will leave the company with about 105,000 square feet. The location opened in 2018.
Triangle Building, 1550 WeWatta St., Denver
Square footage: 72,000 (three floors)
Landlord: Union Investment
Notes: This was WeWork’s inaugural Denver location, opening in 2016.
Circa, 1615 Platte St., Denver
Square footage: 60,000 (two floors)
Landlord: Beacon Capital Partners
Notes: This building is next to The Lab, where WeWork also once operated.
Wells Fargo Center, 1700 Lincoln St., Denver
Square footage: 50,000 (two floors)
Landlord: Brookfield Properties
Notes: WeWork previously had five floors in the downtown tower, which has floor plates of about 25,000 square feet. But the company told BusinessDen last month that it had reached a deal with Brookfield to drop three of the floors. The location opened in 2019.
Canyon 28, 2755 Canyon Blvd., Boulder
Square footage: 30,000
Landlord: LJD Enterprises Inc.
Notes: WeWork’s only Colorado location outside Denver opened in 2019.
Financial House, 205 Detroit St., Denver
Square footage: 18,000 (one floor)
Landlord: Everwest Real Estate Investors
Notes: This location in Cherry Creek is WeWork’s only in Denver outside the downtown core. The lease was signed in 2018.
Locations that have closed
The Lab, 2420 17th St., Denver: WeWork closed this 50,000-square-foot location for good earlier this summer, after briefly closing it in early 2021. It has since been sued by its landlord, Blackrock, for unpaid rent.
The Vault, 821 17th St., Denver: WeWork leased 73,000 square feet and closed it in 2021 before fully building out all the floors.
The Hub, 3601 Walnut St., Denver: WeWork leased 45,000 square feet and closed it in 2021.
Civic Center Plaza, 1560 Broadway, Denver: WeWork leased 61,000 square feet and closed it in 2021.
Locations that were leased but never opened
2323 Delgany St., Denver: WeWork announced it had leased this 85,000-square-foot building in 2019. It sued its landlord in 2021; the litigation was settled the next year. The building was later leased to television station Denver7.
Rev360, 3600 Brighton Blvd., Denver: WeWork leased two floors (about 60,000 square feet) in this building in 2018, before it even broke ground. It reached a deal to get out of the lease by late 2020, when the still-vacant building was finished.
1660 Lincoln St., Denver: WeWork leased approximately 50,000 square feet across four floors in 2019 but terminated the lease months later, around the time the company’s initial attempt to go public fell apart.
