WeWork’s NC spree continues: New spaces in Durham, Raleigh and Charlotte

DURHAM – Apparently, you can’t have too many co-working spaces these days.

At least, that’s the vibe on the street after WeWork – a global network of share office space – recently opened its second office – WeWork Durham.ID – at 300 Morris Street.

The front doors to WeWork’s first co-working space in Durham.

The 80,000-square-foot office occupies three floors in the newly constructed seven-story Morris building, boasting sweeping views of downtown Durham and the iconic American Tobacco tower. It’s one of two buildings — the other is leased by Duke Clinical Research Institute — which is set to make up Durham’s new Innovation District.

That same week, WeWork also launched its Raleigh office – WeWork One Glenwood at 1 Glenwood Ave.

And if that wasn’t enough, there’s a third space coming to Charlotte in August.

But there’s more: WeWork Labs, the company’s for-pay innovation platform for startups, now is available in Durham.

That will bring the sum total of WeWork locations to six in North Carolina, all this coming online in less than two years.

Some critics argue that WeWork is being overly ambitious. Even though the company continues to grow — it’s revenue more than doubled last year to $1.8 billion according to financial results released in March – it’s also hemorrhaging money. It reported around a $1.9 billion loss funding its breakneck expansion.

However, a WeWork spokesperson told WRAL TechWire that the firm is just answering to the demand.

“WeWork One City Center is pretty filled out with member companies of all size,” the spokesperson said. “We’re confident that we will fill up WeWork Durham.ID in the same way.”

IPO on the horizon?

Founded in 2010 by Adam Neumann and Miguel McKelvey, the firm has grown from one small co-working space in Manhattan to a global empire of shared office space in less than a decade.

In late December, the company confidentially filed for an initial public offering (IPO). However, reports this week suggest the firm is seeking to raise as much as $4 billion selling debt ahead of the IPO in a bid to shore up confidence in its business.

Many analysts noted the huge capital raise reflects the skepticism surrounding the company after well-known companies like Lyft and Uber went public after racking up steep losses and bombed.

Whatever is next for the company, however, it’s clear that WeWork has no intention of slowing down, especially when it comes to its expansion in North Carolina.

“We are just scratching the surface here,” Bobby Condon, WeWork’s Southeast general manager told WRAL TechWire back in April.

Co-working competition

No doubt, these new spaces mean more competition for other co-working spaces across the Triangle.

Startups, emerging companies and others can now select from a wide variety of offerings in space and amenities across the Triangle. In addition to WeWork, American Underground and HQ Raleigh, other providers include: BioLabs, Durham, Spaces, First Flight Venture Center, The Frontier, Gridworks, to name a few.

In total, there are an estimated 20 or more providers in this space.

Jess Porta, director of HQ Raleigh, admitted she does have some concerns about such a large company moving onto their turf. “Of course, who wouldn’t be?” she told WRAL TechWire back in May.

However, she believes there’s enough business to go around. “The fact that in just a few short years, we went from just having one coworking space in the heart of the Warehouse District, to over six co-working spaces spread across the community is an incredible sign that this industry and Raleigh as a city is growing and expanding,” she said.