Coworking And Flexible Office Provider Mindspace Signs Management Agreement At The Wanamaker Office Building In Philadelphia

Published on February 19, 2020 - By Allwork.Space - Press

• Coworking space operator, Mindspace, announced a management agreement with Rubenstein Partners, L.P. 
• Through the agreement, Mindspace will open its first coworking space in Philadelphia at The Wanamaker Office Building. 
• The new Mindspace location comprises 42,000 sq ft and is slated to open in Q3 2020. 

Philadelphia, PA – Feb. 18, 2020 – Mindspace, the global coworking and flex space provider, today announced a new management agreement with an affiliate of Rubenstein Partners, L.P. (together with its affiliates, “Rubenstein”) to open the first Mindspace location in Philadelphia at The Wanamaker Office Building (“Wanamaker Building”). The new location will comprise approximately 42,000 square feet of flexible office space, events area and tenant lounges, and is expected to open in the third quarter of 2020.   

Under the management agreement, Mindspace will develop and operate premium flexible workspaces for companies of various sizes on behalf of Rubenstein and under the Mindspace brand. Mindspace will provide additional management services through its “Mindspace for Landlords” offering and will harness its expertise to create the Mindspace experience for all tenants in the building. This includes managing building amenities such as meeting rooms and event spaces, communal areas, guest and check-in services, community programming, and food & beverage offering as well as other concierge-type services. 

The agreement signals an important step forward for the industry as a whole, and for Mindspace as a leading operator of flexible office space and buildings’ amenities on behalf of landlords who wish to elevate the tenants’ experience in their buildings. Rubenstein considered roughly eight different coworking operators before selecting Mindpsace as its chosen partner.

“We’re very excited by this opportunity to bring our experience with coworking spaces in similar heritage buildings around the world to Philadelphia’s Wanamaker Building,” says Mindspace CEO Dan Zakai. “This new relationship is a direct response to changes in the commercial real estate market. Landlords recognize that the traditional leasing model has been disrupted, and that flex spaces and coworking can help broaden their offerings to tenants. Our goal is to pioneer the next level of the business model in the industry through innovative partnerships with landlords. We are excited about our Wanamaker Building plans and the partnership with Rubenstein.”

Read Mortimer, Senior Vice President at Rubenstein Partners said; “We were very selective with our choice of partner and are pleased to move forward with Mindspace. We believe that Mindspace’s approach is consistent with our strategy of delivering a differentiated office experience through providing enhanced amenities and hospitality-style service in the office sector.

The building ownership, consisting of Rubenstein and Amerimar Enterprises Inc., (“Amerimar”) has now completed its multi-phased improvement plan for the Wanamaker Building, including a lobby modernization with central guest check-in, new tenant amenity space on the 8th and 9th floors, and significant updates to common areas and building systems.

Mindspace recently inked four similar management agreements with landlords in Europe and Israel prior to this deal, totaling approximately 180,000 square feet. The Wanamaker Building will be the company’s third U.S. location, following San Francisco and Washington DC. Mindspace spans over 31 locations in 16 cities across the globe.

About Mindspace

Mindspace is a global boutique coworking provider redefining the workplace experience for companies of all sizes. Their beautifully designed spaces, personalized level of service and carefully curated events foster enhanced employee engagement and a strong sense of community, accommodating the way people now work, learn, innovate and grow. For further information please visit Mindspace.me, or follow Mindspace on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. 

More about the Wanamaker building

Built in 1911, The Wanamaker Building is a National Historic Landmark that originally housed one of America’s first department stores.  In addition to offices and retail space, the property includes an approximately 660-space, subterranean parking garage. The 1.4 million square foot office and retail property is located adjacent to City Hall in Center City Philadelphia.  The improvement plan undertaken by Rubenstein and Amerimar, now complete, first focused on tastefully reconfiguring the lobby and guest check-in areas in order to make the experience flow better for tenants and visitors, and fully updating the lighting and finishes in those areas.  The second phase of improvements saw the creation of a magnet common amenity space on the 8th and 9th floors, which is available for all office tenants to use. The grand atrium on the 9th floor, previously underutilized, has been recreated as a beautiful and functional space for gatherings or quiet work time, with a new mini-amphitheater, semi-private tables suitable for informal meetings, and a quality coffee and food concession, taking greater advantage of the soaring space and natural light.  The atrium also connects directly to a fully upgraded fitness center on the 8th floor via the new internal staircase.