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Jonathan Price – CRE & Flex Expert
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IWG is making a significant investment in the Chicago metro area, despite the city’s commercial office challenges. According to a report published by The Real Deal, the flexible workspace provider is adding 21 new locations in Illinois, with a particular focus on Chicago’s suburbs.Â
This sizable expansion comes at a time when the city’s traditional office market is experiencing high vacancies due in-part to the increase of hybrid work schedules. The Switzerland-based company’s expansion strategy could be seen as a response to this rise in flexible work schedules within the U.S., where a sizeable percentage of U.S. companies now favor hybrid work schedules. Â
The new locations, mostly operating under IWG’s Regus brand, include areas in Arlington Heights, Downers Grove, Naperville, Elgin, Lisle, Park Ridge, Lombard, Oakbrook Terrace, Vernon Hills, Westmont, Libertyville, and Frankfort. Â
IWG’s move is a departure from traditional office industry trends, which have seen waning leases in major city centers around the world. This strategy seems to be paying off, as IWG has added 600 locations globally in the last year, including 300 in the U.S. This fast expansion is particularly notable given the recent bankruptcy of WeWork, once the poster child of the coworking industry. Â
The widespread adoption of hybrid and remote work models are some of the most significant trends in today’s workforce — influencing how employees work and where they choose to live. The rapid expansion of IWG and other key players in the industry suggests that even as WeWork faces bankruptcy challenges, the demand for coworking spaces continues to rise in major metro areas across the U.S. It’s a development that is likely to reshape commute times and city design in the years to come.Â
