The Urban Developer
AdvertiseEventsWebinars
Urbanity
Awards
Sign In
Membership
Latest
Menu
Location
Sector
Category
Content
Type
Newsletters
Untitled design (8)
FIRST RELEASE TICKETS ON SALE FOR URBANITY-25 CONNECTING PROPERTY LEADERS ACROSS THE ASIA PACIFIC
FIRST TICKETS ON SALE FOR URBANITY-25 WHERE THE PROPERTY INDUSTRY CONNECTS
SEE DETAILSDETAILS
TheUrbanDeveloper
Follow
About
About Us
Membership
Awards
Events
Webinars
Listings
Partner Lab
Resources
Terms & Conditions
Commenting Policy
Privacy Policy
Republishing Guidelines
Editorial Charter
Complaints Handling Policy
Contact
General Enquiries
Advertise
Contribution Enquiry
Project Submission
Membership Enquiry
Newsletter
Stay up to date and with the latest news, projects, deals and features.
Subscribe
ADVERTISEMENT
SHARE
print
Print
OtherStaff WriterWed 25 Oct 17

WeWork Acquires Famous New York Retail Site for $1.1 Billion

iStock-458572687

In a landmark $1.1 billion deal, global co-working company WeWork has purchased the flagship Manhattan retail store of Lord & Taylor to become its new headquarters.

The 11-storey building, which is nearly 100-years old, is home to a 676,000 square foot store on Fifth Avenue and has been sold by Lord & Taylor’s owner Hudson’s Bay as it comes under pressure to unlock the value of the Canadian company’s real estate holdings and pay down debt.

WeWork will convert most of the building to offices with the retailer still maintaining a pared-down department store over about a quarter of the space. WeWork has made the acquisition with joint venture partner Rhône Capital.
Rhône Capital provided a US$500 million equity investment.


The Lord & Taylor department store has long attracted many tourists and locals to its famous Christmas holiday season store window displays, but like many traditional retailers has been battered by the impact of e-commerce.

Hudson’s Bay also owns the famous Saks Fifth Avenue and is also under pressure to sell that asset with the property recently being appraised for about $3.7 billion.

WeWork has grown to more than 160 locations across 52 cities since being founded in 2010.

The deal between Hudson’s Bay and WeWork allows the retailer to access the largely millennial workforce attracted to WeWork’s office facilities and for WeWork to continue securing prominent attractive locations.

[Also read: Shop, Work, Live: Creating a Relevant Experience for the Millennial Generation]WeWork will also be able to lease retail space in other Hudson’s Bay stores that would have minimal impact on their earnings at these retail locations.

Hudson's Bay executive chairman Richard Baker told CNBC in a television interview, "We've announced a deal for four locations, Fifth Avenue Lord & Taylor building, Toronto, Vancouver and Frankfurt in order to put WeWork in the top portion of these buildings, and drive those young, millennial WeWork members through our retail stores for them to have beautiful office space — with high ceilings and big windows — and it's a real win-win."As part of the deal Hudson’s Bay will also become an early adopter of WeWork’s ‘Powered by We’ operating platform, which combines physical spaces and digital systems for more efficient design, building and operating of office space.

In August, WeWork was able to secure a $4.4 billion source of capital from Japanese conglomerate Softbank, with Softbank receiving two seats on WeWork's board.

Chief executive and co-founder of WeWork, Adam Neumann, said: “WeWork could not be what it is today if it wasn’t for our New York roots. The WeWork of today is a testament to the energy and hustle of this great city and it permeates everything we do.

“Retail is changing and the role that real estate has to play in the way that we shop today must change with it.”

RetailInternationalFinanceReal EstateDeal
AUTHOR
Staff Writer
"TheUrbanDeveloper.com is committed to delivering the latest news, reviews, opinions and insights into the best of urban development from Australia and around the world. "
More articles by this author
ADVERTISEMENT
TOP STORIES
Bankstown cbd in Sydney NSW EDM
Exclusive

Breaking Delivery Crisis Chokehold on NSW’s Biggest Housing Market

Vanessa Croll
7 Min
Healthscope Hospital EDM
Exclusive

‘Once-in-a-Decade’ Opportunities Rise in Wake of Healthscope Collapse

Clare Burnett
7 Min
Exclusive

Parking Upsize Threatens Fatal Blow to Project Feasibility

Phil Bartsch
6 Min
One New Zealand Stadium BESIX Watpac
Exclusive

Rising to a Challenge: How BESIX Watpac Topped Australia’s Builders

Clare Burnett
7 Min
Exclusive

Rewards Outstrip Risk in SE Queensland Off-The-Plan Buys

Taryn Paris
7 Min
View All >
Sponsored

Fast Funds, Real Help—Woodbridge Capital Delivers Both

Partner Content
Sydney Fish Market Blackwattle EDM
Planning

Sydney Fish Market Rezoning Clears Way for 320 Homes

Clare Burnett
Bankstown cbd in Sydney NSW EDM
Exclusive

Breaking Delivery Crisis Chokehold on NSW’s Biggest Housing Market

Vanessa Croll
Buyers are ready, the homes are not: Fixing the Western Sydney housing crisis is a sum of its parts, a Sydney summit has…
LATEST
Finance

Fast Funds, Real Help—Woodbridge Capital Delivers Both

Partner Content
5 Min
Sydney Fish Market Blackwattle EDM
Planning

Sydney Fish Market Rezoning Clears Way for 320 Homes

Clare Burnett
2 Min
Bankstown cbd in Sydney NSW EDM
Exclusive

Breaking Delivery Crisis Chokehold on NSW’s Biggest Housing Market

Vanessa Croll
7 Min
Aerial photo of St Mary's Intermodal Terminal in Western Sydney now sold by Pacific National to PGIM and Cadence.
Industrial

Cadence, PGIM Team Up for $145m Freight Rail Acquisition

Marisa Wikramanayake
2 Min
View All >
ADVERTISEMENT
Article originally posted at: https://theurbandeveloper.com/articles/wework-lord-taylor-hudsons-bay-manhattan