American collaborative workspace giant WeWork is set to continue its expansion in Israel, announcing the construction of its first Petah Tikva location, the company’s second-largest in the country to date.
WeWork’s latest shared space, to be located in Petah Tikva’s Kiryat Aryeh industrial zone, is expected to open its doors in 2020 to approximately 3,000 new members.
WeWork currently has 10 locations in five cities in Israel, including six locations in Tel Aviv, and boasts 7,000 members across the country.
The company will renovate an abandoned 15,000 square-meter, six-floor building built in the 1980s. The site, owned by Ampa, is well-known to Israeli commuters due to its highly visible location adjacent to Highway 4 and the Geha Interchange.
“We are excited to be expanding to an additional city in Israel and to offer businesses in Petah Tikva the opportunity to join the WeWork community,” said Benjy Singer, general manager of WeWork Israel.
“After a short renovation period, the neglected structure will be transformed into an iconic building with three new floors, a large, beautiful rooftop that overlooks the city, and space for retail development,” Singer said. “We look forward to partnering with the Petah Tikva municipality to transform the area into one of the most desirable workspace locations in the center of the country, and hope that this first location in Petah Tikva is the first of many.”
WeWork hopes to tap into the local Petah Tikva market, with Israel’s fourth-largest city home to almost 29,000 large and small businesses.
Today, 40% of WeWork’s global membership is made up of enterprise businesses, and the company is offering a range of solutions for large firms at its Petah Tikva location, ranging from private, custom floors suitable for corporate headquarters to smaller, satellite offices for local teams.
“I am pleased that since I entered office, my administration’s efforts toward urban renewal and advancement have included the Kiryat Aryeh industrial zone, transforming it into an advanced hi-tech park that will provide hundreds of jobs for the city’s residents and serve as a model and example,” said Petah Tikva Mayor Rami Greenberg. “I personally met with the entrepreneurs and heads of WeWork and Ampa, and will continue to ensure that such projects will be established in the city for the benefit of the residents and to strengthen the city and its businesses.”
Founded in 2010 by Israeli-American Adam Neumann and Miguel McKelvey, WeWork has expanded to also offer co-living venture WeLive and entrepreneurial school WeGrow.
In total, the company operates 485 locations in 105 cities across 28 countries, and counts over 466,000 members – including more than one-third of Global Fortune 500 companies.
Last month, WeWork published its first Global Impact Report, showcasing its effect on people, businesses of different sizes and cities around the world.
The WeWork economy, the company says, supports an estimated 680,000 jobs and $122.3 billion in GDP worldwide.
In Israel, data shows that the average growth rate for small and medium-sized WeWork member companies in Tel Aviv stands at 28%, compared with the citywide average of 3% for all companies.
Some 83% of Tel Aviv members did not work in the neighborhood prior to joining WeWork, the study said, leading to increased activity and investment in local services.