Although WeWork has slowed down its expansion rate, the coworking industry as a whole is expected to gain traction over the next few years according to a new prediction from Newman Knight Frank.
Rising demand for shared workspaces will lead coworking spaces in downtown Chicago to grow to over 9 million square feet by the end of 2023.
While several landlords and large corporations have adopted coworking spaces to help fill vacancies and give tenants the ability to add more workspace, many real estate investors are becoming wary of the industry. This is largely due to WeWork’s turbulent attempt to go public casting a light on how several of these operators function.
“This is a very attractive product at the industry level for users of office space,” said Mat Ward, senior managing director at NKF. “It works, will continue to work and we’ll continue to see adoption.”
The NKF report also found that nearly 43,000 workers work out of a coworking space in downtown Chicago, almost double the amount it was three years ago. The firm expects that number will grow to 120,000 by the end of 2023.
Ward added that large companies with at least 500 employees will continue to drive growth, with government employees expected to become a significant part of coworking spaces going forward.
