WeWork Bought Out Of 146,000 SF Lease At 830 Brickell By OKO Group And Cain International

WeWork has been bought out of their lease to occupy 146,000 square feet covering 10-floors at 830 Brickell by developers OKO Group and Cain International. WeWork was one of the first to sign a major lease at the Class A office tower in 2019 which was set to become their largest location Florida. Rents at 830 Brickell are now in excess of $125 PSF representing a 42% rise year-over-year. Construction on the tower is nearing completion.

Despite the WeWork opt-out 830 Brickell has signed leases with other top-tier office users at 830 Brickell, including Microsoft, international law firm Sidley Austin LLP, New York-based insurance firm A-CAP, private equity firm Thoma Bravo, CI Financial, Marsh Insurance, AerCap, and others.

The news comes as the Miami office market continues to boast one of the lowest vacancy rates with absorption faring better than other competing markets across the U.S, according to the Miami Downtown Development Authority’s 2021 Office Market Report. In fact, Downtown Miami was the only major urban office market in the country to achieve net-positive absorption in 2021.

830 Brickell was designed by renowned architecture firm Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill, with interiors by Italian architecture and design company Iosa Ghini Associati.

The tower’s amenities will include a rooftop bar/lounge and restaurant – with menus developed alongside a three-Michelin-starred chef and showcasing expansive views of the City and Biscayne Bay, a world-class health and wellness center, conferencing facilities, an outdoor terrace, cafeìs and street-level retail. Multiple transit options are nearby, including Metrorail and Metromover, the Brightline, walking paths, cycling lanes and bay access points. Additionally, some of Miami’s top residential and lifestyle-driven neighborhoods are situated just minutes away, such as Miami’s Design District, Wynwood, Edgewater and Miami Beach.

WeWork Leaves Lincoln Road Location As Landlord Seeks $19.5 Million In Unpaid Rent

WeWork’s trouble’s due to COVID-19 continue as the landlord of their 350 Lincoln Road location has sued the co-working giant in Miami-Dade Circuit Court. SML 350 Lincoln Inc., an entity controlled by Shaul Levy and Meir Levy, alleges that WeWork breached their lease by failure to pay rent in April, May and June while occupying the 40,000 square foot space and now owes in-excess of $19.5 million in back-rent and legal fees. WeWork said in a statement that the lawsuit is without merit and will continue to work with the landlord to resolve the situation in a mutually beneficial fashion. WeWork’s 16-year lease at 350 Lincoln Road began in November 2014 and runs through October 2030.

WeWork will close the Lincoln Road location on August 14 and has also moved to consolidate its Miami Beach members to 429 Lenox Avenue. Last month we reported that Goddard Investment Group has moved to evict WeWork from the Lenox Avenue location, but the two parties were reportedly able to resolve their differences.

WeWork, which is now led by CEO Sandeep Mathrani, still has locations in Downtown Miami, Brickell and Coral Gables. Times have not been good to WeWork following its failed IPO in 2019. The coworking giant recently announced that it will being closing its first location to ever open in New York City and saw its valuation slashed from over $47 billion to $2.9 billion.

In May 2020, a group of WeWork’s members moved toward suing the co-working giant demanding that WeWork cease collecting rental fees. Many tenants had already requested rent relief, cancelled their leases or stopped paying, which put over $5.5 billion of CMBS loans backed by WeWork occupied properties at risk. Some of the CMBS loans back WeWork flagship locations in New York and San Francisco. WeWork has retained Newmark Knight Frank and JLL to try to renegotiate leases and negotiate concessions from landlords at some of their properties as the firm try to stave off a potential bankruptcy.

WeWork’s problems do not end there. Former CEO and co-founder Adam Neumann is reportedly under investigation for self-dealing by the New York State Attorney General. In addition, the Tokyo-based SoftBank led by Masayoshi Son and a special committee of WeWork board members have been locked in a legal battle after Softbank walked away from a $3 billion tender offer in April 2020 which was part of the $9.5 billion bailout package SoftBank signed with WeWork following WeWork’s failed IPO.

Swire Properties Sells Two Brickell City Centre Office Buildings For $163 Million Amid Pandemic

Swire Properties has sold Two Brickell City Centre and Three Brickell City Centre for a combined $163 million, $630 per square foot, amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Each Class A Office building is roughly 130,000 square feet with the pricing broken down by $80.3 million for Two Brickell City Centre and Three Brickell City Centre sold for $82.7 million. The buyer was reportedly the Santa Monica-based Northwood Investors. Tenants of the office buildings include the law firm Akerman LLP, McKinsey & Company, and WeWork. The properties were first marketed for sale in January 2020.

Swire Properties plans to use the proceeds to fund future development, they have Brickell City Centre’s Phase 2 planned in partnership with Carlos Mattos to build a 100,000 SF expansion with a 54-story, 588-unit residential tower, and a 62-story, 384-unit residential tower with commercial space and additional parking.

Two Brickell City Centre and Three Brickell City Centre are located at 78 Southwest Seventh Street and 98 Southeast Seventh Street. Brickell City Centre was completed in 2016 and designed by Arquitectonica. The development features an opener shopping mall anchored by Saks Fifth Avenue, Casa Tua Cucina and CMX Theaters, the Rise and Reach condo towers and the East Hotel.

Goddard Investment Group Moves To Evict WeWork From South of Fifth Location

WeWork’s landlord at 429 Lenox Avenue, Goddard Investment Group, has moved to evict WeWork from their South of Fifth location at 429 Lenox Avenue in South Beach. The 43,500 SF building is fully leased by WeWork who skipped out on rent payments for April, May and June. An eviction notice reportedly alleges WeWork behind in excess of $650,000 in unpaid rent which must be paid by today or WeWork must vacate the property (July 7, 2020). WeWork first opened the South of Fifth location in early 2016 and is committed to the NNN lease until 2031. Goddard Investment Group financed 429 Lenox Ave. with a $23 million floating-rate loan issued by Granite Point Mortgage Trust, Inc. In Miami WeWork has other locations at 350 Lincoln Road, Brickell, Downtown Miami and Coral Gables.

Times have not been good to WeWork following its failed IPO in 2019. The coworking giant recently announced that it will being closing its first location to ever open in New York City and saw its valuation slashed from over $47 billion to $2.9 billion.

In May 2020, a group of WeWork’s members moved toward suing the co-working giant demanding that WeWork cease collecting rental fees. Many tenants had already requested rent relief, cancelled their leases or stopped paying, which put over $5.5 billion of CMBS loans backed by WeWork occupied properties at risk. Some of the CMBS loans back WeWork flagship locations in New York and San Francisco. WeWork has retained Newmark Knight Frank and JLL to try to renegotiate leases and negotiate concessions from landlords at some of their properties as the firm try to stave off a potential bankruptcy.

WeWork’s problems do not end there. Former CEO and co-founder Adam Neumann is reportedly under investigation for self-dealing by the New York State Attorney General. In addition, the Tokyo-based SoftBank led by Masayoshi Son and a special committee of WeWork board members have been locked in a legal battle after Softbank walked away from a $3 billion tender offer in April 2020 which was part of the $9.5 billion bailout package SoftBank signed with WeWork following WeWork’s failed IPO.

WeWork Lawsuit-Threat By Tenants Requesting Rent Relief Sends Shudders Through $5.5 Billion Of CMBS Debt

A group of WeWork’s members have moved toward suing the co-working giant in a letter sent by Walden Macht & Haran demanding that WeWork cease collecting rental fees. Many tenants have already requested rent relief, cancellation of their leases or stopped paying, which has put over $5.5 billion of CMBS loans backed by WeWork occupied properties at risk. Some of the CMBS loans back WeWork flagship locations in New York and San Francisco. WeWork, who was previously valued at $47 billion before dropping to a pre-covid valuation of $8 billion, has been working to renegotiate leases and has even skipped out to rent at some of their properties. This has in turn caused the price of bonds backed by payments from WeWork to fall drastically.

WeWork has made an effort to keep their locations open during the COVID-19 pandemic, but many of their tenants have expressed that they think WeWork should have shut their locations. Should WeWork not, Jim Walden of Walden Macht & Haran, threatened to start an arbitration process for WeWork members if the company continues to collect the fees in his letter to the company.

“State and local authorities around the country have directed businesses to cease operation and have prohibited workers, including our clients, from using their workplaces,” said Jim Walden. “As long as this pandemic prohibits our clients from using their WeWork office spaces, the purpose of their membership agreements is frustrated, thus excusing their obligation to pay membership fees.”

Tenants have accused WeWork of turning their backs on small business by continuing to collect fees. Due to WeWork’s short term lease model, the co-working giant is more at risk than the standard office landlord as many of WeWork’s tenants have elected not to renew and can be more flexible about actually going to an office as opposed to working from home. Many of WeWork’s tenants do not want to take the risk of going to their WeWork office location during the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic with 1.37 million confirmed cases in the US. Walden claims that the way the leases are structured are closer to that of gym memberships as opposed to true office leases, meaning that under New York law members are not liable for payments if they cannot physically access the space.

“Our clients have no legal obligation to pay their membership fees while the purpose of their membership agreements remains frustrated by the COVD-19 pandemic,” Walden wrote. “Ignoring this fact, WeWork continues charging these members full monthly fees and refuses to offer concessions or compromise.”

WeWork’s problems do not end there. Former CEO and co-founder Adam Neumann is reportedly under investigation for self-dealing by the New York State Attorney General. Additionally, one of WeWork’s major financial backers, the Tokyo-based SoftBank led by Masayoshi Son, walked away from a $3 billion tender offer in April 2020 which was part of the $9.5 billion bailout package SoftBank signed with WeWork in October 2019 following WeWork’s failed IPO. In May 2020 a special committee of WeWork board members filed a motion in Delaware to prevent SoftBank from disbanding the company as they purse legal action against the majority owner SoftBank Group Corp. WeWork’s special committee also represents minority shareholders including co-founder Adam Neumann. SoftBank and the SoftBank Vision Fund, which is a tech-focused venture capital fund with includes capital from the Saudi Arabian and Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth funds, Apple, Qualcomm, Foxconn and Sharp, have invested $14.25 billion into WeWork.

OKO Group Launches The AS+GG Designed 830 Brickell Office Tower In Miami's Financial District

OKO Group, the US-based development company founded by international real estate and hotel magnate Vladislav Doronin, and Cain International, a privately held real estate investment firm, have revealed plans for 830 Brickell, the first new office tower to launch in Miami in nearly a decade. The soaring 57-story, 724’-tall skyscraper designed by one of the world’s leading architecture firms, Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture (AS+GG), will introduce a premium commercial offering to the city’s booming financial district and will reinvent Miami’s workplace lifestyle for the highest-caliber of global workforce. Cushman & Wakefield’s leasing team is launching the marketing of the building to prospects now, ahead of 830 Brickell’s completion in 2021. A $300 million construction loan from MSD Partners, L.P. closed in July this year. 

“The 830 Brickell development, in its unmatched location, will enhance and elevate the commercial landscape of Miami, helping to attract world-players in finance and business to this thriving city. In my 26-year career as a developer I have built 71 commercial and residential buildings totaling over 75 million square feet, I am proud to be bringing what will be the best office building to Miami with 830 Brickell,” says Vladislav Doronin, Chairman and CEO of OKO Group. 

830 Brickell will feature spectacular only-in-Miami panoramic ocean and city views, floor-to-ceiling windows, column-free spans, state-of-the-art digital infrastructure with Wired certification and a LEED Silver certification due to its progressive environmentally efficient design. It will be Miami’s most contemporary office tower, befitting the city’s growth into an international capital of business. 

“Cain International is proud to lend our focus and experience developing properties that offer modern luxury workforce amenities to this auspicious project and to Brickell,” said Jonathan Goldstein, CEO of Cain International. “830 Brickell will reach the top of the Miami skyline and deliver the top level of amenities and services for its tenants.” 

830 Brickell will also be differentiated by its unprecedented lifestyle offerings for a commercial tower, which will promote out-of-the-box collaboration, work-life balance and wellness. Aimed at attracting the world’s largest companies and progressive visionaries, the project touts an elite roster of first-rate amenities – including an upscale rooftop restaurant and bar on the 56th and 57th floors, a 30th floor sky lobby with a nearly 2,500 SF health and wellness center and first-class conference facility, a 14th floor outdoor terrace designed by Enea Landscape Architecture, valet parking and electric vehicle charging stations, cafés and shopping. Offering white-glove customer service, the tower also boasts a forward-thinking culture of seamlessness, highlighted by a 24-hour concierge responsible for event planning and coordination, booking restaurant reservations, sending out dry cleaning, organizing deliveries and more. Additional services will include bicycle storage, a shoe shining stations and much more. 

830 Brickell will also feature a rooftop restaurant and bar offering sweeping views of downtown that will energize the building at night. Additional roof terraces will allow tenants to enjoy the Miami weather without being on the street level. The 30th floor sky lobby with café and fitness center offers more advantageous views to all tenants. 

Vertical construction on 830 Brickell is set to begin in the late summer of 2019 and already WeWork, the global leader in the surging co-working industry, has signed on to occupy 146,000 SF in the 1,030,000 SF tower.

Check Out WeWork Ponce de Leon, WeWork's New Coral Gables Location Which Opened Earlier This Year

WeWork continues to expand in Miami as the co-working office space mega-brand officially opened its fifth location in the Miami area earlier this year in Coral Gables (2018). Located at 2222 Ponce De Leon Boulevard, WeWork Ponce De Leon features 552 decks, 118 offices, 11 meeting rooms, 6 lounges, 10 nooks, 2 pantries, and 4 private phone rooms. The build-out was carried out by Lunch Money, WeWork's in-house design team. The co-working office space, which can be rented for private events, features a custom terrazzo bar in the main lounge with cold brew coffee and Kombucha on tap, 3rd floor terrace, 2 fruit water stations, and a cappuccino machine. Pricing for a Hot Desk starts at $345/mo. and Private Offices start at $690/mo. Other WeWork locations in Miami include Downtown Miami, South of Fifth, Lincoln Road, and Brickell City Centre.

WeWork to Lease 65,000 SF of Office Space at Two Brickell City Centre

WeWork has announced that they will lease 65,000 SF of office space in Brickell City Centre. The lease could account to close to half of Swire Properties' 132,280 SF of the space at Two Brickell City Centre going to the highly-valued and controversial Coworking/ Shared Work Space pioneer, according to The Real Deal. Asking rents were around $53 SF. In 2015 WeWork opened an original Miami location on Lincoln Road then opened a second space with 850 desks on Lenox Ave. in Miami Beach. WeWork is currently valued around $16 billion and was founded in 2010 by Adam Neumann and Miguel McKelvey. Sources via TheRealDeal.