WeWork Labs, the 50-person coworking experiment that at times seems more like an incubator, currently located at the Soho location of coworking network WeWork, will be moving to 175 Varick Street in February 2012. “We hope to take the current incubator format to the next level and will accommodate and mentor hand-selected tech companies in their different stages of growth,” Onepager cofounder and WeWork Labs handyman Matt Shampine told Betabeat by email.
The new space will feature dedicated desks for early stage startups and private offices for more advanced companies, not unlike the current setup in the embedded Soho Labs. “The new building on Varick Street will also have a private entrance for all WeWork members that will include a coffee shop, game area, and can be turned into an event space,” Mr. Shampine said.
This is the largest lease to date for the rapidly expanding WeWork, which leases another 115,000 square feet or so in its Midtown, Soho and Meatpacking locations, and still has a six-month waiting list. WeWork will occupy 75,000 square feet of the Varick building—that’s 700 desks!—of which 17,000 square feet will be dedicated to WeWork Labs. WeWork had been scouting for the location for six months, broker Sean Black told The Commercial Observer.
