Cowork Space Provider CommonGrounds Continues Eastward Expansion in Philadelphia

Growing West Coast cowork space provider CommonGrounds Workplace has added another leg to its Eastern U.S. expansion, with plans for a Philadelphia location following the announcements of pending openings in Atlanta and Washington, D.C.

Company officials said the lease for the 62,461-square-foot space at 1700 Market St., in Philadelphia’s central business district, is CommonGrounds’ sixth lease signed this year as part of the company’s expansion tied to a recent $100 million Series A funding infusion.

This year, CommonGrounds has announced long-term leases totaling more than 263,000 square feet, for cowork operations planned in Midtown Atlanta, downtown Los Angeles’ financial district, Seattle’s South Lake Union area and two Washington, D.C., locations – in downtown and the Capitol Riverfront area.

Officials said in a statement that CommonGrounds, based in the San Diego area, has established an Eastern regional headquarters in Philadelphia and currently has 15 employees at the Market Street location with active new hiring underway.

Financial terms were not disclosed for the lease in Philadelphia, where the company will build out a two-floor space set to open in late January next year. CoStar data indicates the 32-story 1700 Market location was built in 1969 and renovated in 2018, after being acquired by Shorenstein Company for $195 million in January 2016.

Chief Executive Jacob Bates, a former Philadelphia resident, said the Philadelphia location was chosen based on factors including its proximity to City Hall and the nearby Rittenhouse Square, and it would provide an alternative to other nearby traditional offices housing corporate tenants.

Started in 2015 and headquartered in the San Diego suburb of Carlsbad, California, CommonGrounds is among several growing operators of shared workspaces used on a flexible basis for short periods, with access to shared amenities like kitchens and conference rooms for users who pay a monthly fee.

The company recently opened new spaces in Minneapolis, Portland and Salt Lake City, following earlier openings in San Diego, Denver, San Jose and Long Beach, California.
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