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WeWork Opens Brooklyn Navy Yard Offices to Manhattan Employees

WeWork Opens Brooklyn Navy Yard Offices to Manhattan Employees

WeWork Cos. is making its Brooklyn office hub available to staff who may not want to commute into Manhattan during the pandemic.

The co-working company said Monday that its more than 1,500 New York-based employees can now choose to work out of Dock 72 at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, or two other Manhattan locations in addition to its headquarters in Chelsea.

WeWork Opens Brooklyn Navy Yard Offices to Manhattan Employees

WeWork leases about a third of the space at Dock 72, a newly developed 675,000-square-foot building on the East River, and is reserving two floors at the property for its own staff.

Companies based in Manhattan have been seeking flexible options for workers who may want to avoid public transit and stay closer to home while Covid-19 is still a threat. Some banks have been considering short-term offices in New York City’s suburbs.

At Dock 72, which opened last year, co-developers Boston Properties Inc. and Rudin Management Co. have yet to find tenants for the remaining two-thirds of the building’s space. WeWork, its anchor tenant, has been mired in controversy since last year, when it scrapped plans for an initial public offering.

Dock 72 -- with its wide floor plates and roof deck with panoramic views of Manhattan -- could be attractive to many companies, and having more WeWork employees at the property would give it a boost, said Bill Rudin, CEO of Rudin Management.

“This building is about utilizing the lobbies, coffee shops, outdoor space, seating,” Rudin said in an interview. WeWork’s presence “brings life and animation to the building, which in our view would be very positive as we continue marketing and showing prospective tenants Dock 72.”

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.