In another blow to the office industry, co-working giant WeWork finally bowed to the inevitable after a total of $16 billion in losses and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Newark last night. This was a case that had its origins well before the pandemic, but the trend to remote work hastened WeWork’s fall. The […]
As our well-informed readers know, the Wall Street Journal has reported that WeWork expects to file for bankruptcy next week. For now, the WeWork bondholders have entered into a seven-day forbearance of the grace period to declare a default in order to provide additional time for negotiations.
It has been evident for many years that WeWork’s […]
I recently attended a fascinating real estate investors’ conference for hedge funds, lenders and owners held by the Real Estate Limited Partner Institute. The talk of the conference was the almost complete inability of landlords (other than owners of tier 1 properties) to get any financing at all, except at exorbitant rates around 15% which […]
With all the controversial things that Elon Musk says, even our well-informed readers may not have seen his interesting comment in his recent CNBC interview that employees going to the office is a “moral issue”. In the interview, Mr. Musk opined that “I kind of think that the whole notion of work from home is […]
There has been a lot going on lately, so it is possible that even our well-informed readers missed the interesting news that in a special referendum in Paris, local citizens voted overwhelmingly to ban rented e-scooters by 89-11%. Apparently, the chaos and accidents caused by these motorized menaces was too much for Parisian pedestrians to […]
Last week there was an article in the New York Times profiling Columbia Business School professor Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh, who is concerned about a potential “doom loop“ for New York City arising from the decline of the office sector. A couple of days later Bloomberg reported a that a recent study by Stanford work from […]
There appears to be an unseemly rush to set up casinos in Manhattan. Every day there is a new proposal from a prospective operator.
However, don’t fall for the okey-doke. If the city places a bet on Lucky Dan, it’s sure to be stung just as in the movies. This is a desperate last gasp move […]
There have been several excellent articles recently about whether the glass representing the future of New York and urban America is half empty or half full. We don’t yet know in a metaphorical sense. However, we do know that offices are literally half full with 49.6% employee attendance in New York City and 49.0% nationwide. […]
Our well-informed readers are surely aware of the travails of Twitter following its recent takeover. Technology is not my field, but when Elon Musk mandated a return to office by employees that he later rescinded, I thought there might be helpful lessons for managers from the ensuing debacle in my area of expertise. Clearly, this […]
There are some dark clouds hovering over the office leasing industry that started with the pandemic and remote work. Industry veterans suggested for years that the trend would pass. However, 2 1/2 years into the pandemic, we can conclude that it is surely enduring with approximately 50% employee attendance around the country.
In order to adapt, […]
