The Rise of Coworking, and Industrious
Did you know coworking is responsible for 1% of the 600 billion in office rents every year? However, that said, that figure is slated to jump to 15-20% by 2020. That’s a gigantic shift in the commercial landscape.
Who will benefit? You all know WeWork (a company I’ve mentioned several times in the weekly newsletter for mastermind members). But not many of you likely know their biggest competitor, Industrious.
I’ve worked at Impact Hub since 2013, been to events at WeWork’s, heard about Makers, visited Office Nomads — but hadn’t heard of Industrious until my girlfriend’s company moved from WeWork to Industrious at the beginning of the year.
Industrious recently raised $80M from Fifth Wall, among other investors. I agree with Fifth Wall’s prediction coworking will be an integral part of every commercial building in the future. Going one step further, I also believe we’ll see a rise in hybrid buildings that blend commercial and residential. For instance, a coworking space as half of a floor in my condo building would make a lot of sense as an amenity.
I’ve long thought coworking spaces and real estate are a natural partnership opportunity. How long will it be until we see a major franchise or brokerage (such as Compass, Redfin, eXp, or Realogy) invest money into a regional coworking space (or even a larger player like Industrious) as a user acquisition channel?
Mike Price
Posted at 08:54h, 08 MarchA few years back I was on a long range planning committee in the city I lived in. They commissioned a study by Texas A&M to look at the potential use of some land. One of the suggestions was a very interesting mixed use plan that combined condos and office space in the same buildings. With the “gig economy” growing at a rapid pace I think this approach is a solid bet. With a 12% drop in enrollment in universities, I think it’s clear that the U.S. economy is going to continue to see a steady rise in small businesses and a big spike in people interested in mixed use property.
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Posted at 11:27h, 08 MarchI visited a new WeWork location recently, it’s in the same building as Redfin HQ, good post. https://www.geekwire.com/2018/wework-double-seattle-footprint-2018-co-working-giant-continues-global-expansion/