Rudin teams up with Industrious for flex-office play

Rudin Management’s Michael Rudin and Industrious’ Justin Stewart with 32 Sixth Avenue in Tribeca (Rudin, Industrious, Google Maps)

The Rudin family is experimenting with flex-office spaces at one of its Manhattan properties.

The family real estate firm will partner with Industrious on a 52,000-square-foot location at 32 Sixth Avenue in Tribeca, the companies confirmed to The Real Deal. The flex-office provider will take over the building’s 13th floor for Industrious Tribeca, which is expected to have nine private suites that can each accommodate as many as 50 people. It’s slated to open in the fourth quarter.

As prospective office tenants seek more flexibility in the post-pandemic world, Rudin was looking for the right opportunity to partner with Industrious. Unlike its coworking competitors, Industrious enters into management agreements with its landlords — Rudin, for example, signed a 10-year agreement with the company.

“Given the size of the building, and the size of the space that they’re taking, we thought it was an appropriate way to start a relationship with them to see what they can do and what kind of value that they can add to the building,” said Michael Rudin, senior vice president at Rudin Management.

Rudin was an early supporter of WeWork, having leased all 300,000 square feet of its 110 Wall Street location after Superstorm Sandy damaged the building in Lower Manhattan in 2012. Most recently, Rudin Management signed WeWork as its anchor tenant of Dock 72, a tech-focused office building at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. While leasing at the building has reportedly gone more slowly than anticipated, Rudin says WeWork has been paying its rent.

Several landlords have recently partnered with Industrious on flex-office spaces, including a 17,000-square-foot site at TF Cornerstone’s Carnegie Hall Tower, and a 53,000-square-foot location at the Sioni Group’s 44 West 37th Street. But having a site in the Rudin portfolio is an important milestone for the firm, said Justin Stewart, president and co-founder of Industrious.

“This is what I hope to be one of many deals to do with the Rudin family,” Stewart said. “I’ve always looked up to them in my earlier part of my real estate career.”

The current roster of tenants at 32 Sixth Avenue includes Dentsu, Verizon, Coresite and New York University. The 13th floor space will be vacated by CenturyLink.

With the recent additions, Industrious now has 11 locations in the city, totaling more than 650,000 square feet. The rapid expansion is playing out against the backdrop of Industrious’ potential initial public offering later this year or early next year. CBRE Group recently acquired a 35 percent stake in Industrious ahead of its possible IPO.

Contact Akiko Matsuda