WeWork ends U.S. Steel Tower plans
Company was slated to add a large office
Embattled WeWork has scrapped plans to open a big office in the U.S. Steel Tower in Downtown.
The coworking giant, which has been reeling after it ditched an initial public offering last month, had been planning to build out as much as 105,000 square feet in Pittsburgh’s tallest building.
It confirmed Wednesday that it is not moving ahead with the office.
“WeWork is focused on strategic expansion and ultimately did not enter into a lease agreement for the U.S. Steel Tower,” a spokesperson said in an email.
A month ago, the Building Pittsburgh blog reported that Mascaro Construction had received a $9 million contract to do tenant improvements totaling 105,000 square feet for WeWork in the U.S. Steel Tower.
The square footage translated into more than two floors of space in the Grant Street landmark.
On its website, WeWork had stated that a Pittsburgh location was coming soon. That statement could not be found Wednesday. The company had conducted a search for space in or near Downtown last fall.
The decision to drop plans for an office in Pittsburgh came as WeWork talks to banks about a potential bailout package amid reports that it may run out of money by mid-November.
WeWork abandoned plans for its initial public offering last month after investors valued the company at a fraction of the $47 billion it was assigned in January. They did so after WeWork reported a $900 million loss over half a year in its prospectus.
Amid the turmoil, company cofounder and CEO Adam Neumann stepped down. WeWork, known in part for the free beer and wine it offers to members, may lay off up to 2,000 employees as early as next week, according to the Guardian newspaper.