IWG to Expand in Arizona With 15 New Coworking Spaces

IWG is blanketing Arizona with more than a dozen coworking offices, with the bulk of the fold around Phoenix.

The Switzerland-based flexible office firm is adding 15 workspaces across the Valley from Goodyear to Gilbert and Casa Grande to north Phoenix, plus one in Tucson, the Phoenix Business Journal reported.

The addition will bring IWG’s coworking footprint to 46 offices in the Grand Canyon State, including its Regus, HQ and Spaces brands.

Of the 15 new offices, two just opened in Phoenix while 11 others are “coming soon,” according to the firm. IWG expects to open the final two in the third quarter.

The total volume of IWG offices, including pending lease or purchase deals, was not disclosed.

The firm plans to open its largest coworking office under the Spaces brand in the recently built GEN1 at GSQ at 15150 West Park Place, in Goodyear. Terms for the “coming soon” lease for 25,200 square feet were not disclosed.

Other large leases include Regus-branded offices containing 16,800 square feet at 560 West Brown Road, in Mesa; and 13,000 square feet at the Promenade at Casa Grande mall at 1005 North Promenade Parkway, in Casa Grande.

Phoenix is among the top five markets for coworking offices when it comes to affordability, with “open workspace” subscriptions averaging $119 a month, according to a new report from CoworkingCafe.

“As an important business hub, Arizona is a fantastic place for us to boost our expansion plans,” Mark Dixon, CEO and founder of IWG, said in a statement. “The need for high-quality flexible workspaces continues to soar as hybrid working becomes the new normal.”

Late last year, Greater Phoenix had 2.4 million square feet of coworking offices, with the average office containing just over 20,000 square feet, according to the report.

A year ago, IWG had recovered more than 90 percent of 2019 occupancy after a loss during the pandemic, according to the Business Journal. Office brokers attributed the rebound to the affordability of coworking offers as companies sought fewer office commitments.

New York-based WeWork, following a Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is whittling down its co-working offices in Phoenix, with one landlord engaged this month in a legal battle over unpaid rent. The company has kept a downsized office open in Tempe.

Other coworking firms have stepped in to fill the gap.

In December, Utah-based Kiln opened a 33,000-square-foot flex office at the SanTan Village mall at 2218 East Williams Field Road, in Gilbert, according to the Business Journal.

The coworking office, billed as “the most advanced and amenity-rich flex office environment” in the nation, includes offices, suites, joint work areas, AV-equipped meeting and event rooms, an advanced podcast and video recording studio, theater and “wellness studio.”

In July, Texas-based Lucid Private Offices also signed a lease for nearly 27,000 square feet of coworking offices at the 24th at Camelback II building at 2325 East Camelback Road, in Phoenix. Terms of the Kiln and Lucid leases were not disclosed.

— Dana Bartholomew