Report: Philly’s coworking boom will continue in 2017

The coworking business in Philly, as our all-inclusive guide points out, is alive and well. Though you might wonder, is the bubble gonna burst anytime soon?

Chicago-based real estate firm Cushman and Wakefield, with presence in 300 cities globally, doesn’t think so. Its Philly team just released a report on the state of coworking that found Philadelphia was home to 19 operators offering a total of 507,914 square feet of coworking space.

The report projects “continued demand for coworking office space market-wide through 2017.”

According to Cushman and Wakefield, there’s been consistent growth in the average occupation rate among Philly coworking spaces over the last five years.

“[Average occupation went] from 3,000 square feet to 17,000 square feet and as high as 56,000 square feet,” said Jared Jacobs, Cushman and Wakefield’s research manager, in a press release accompanying the report.

“Three coworking companies are currently in the market for spaces ranging from 30,000 to 50,000 square feet each. In addition, Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Cambridge Innovation Center (CIC) signed a 125,000-square-foot lease at 3675 Market Street in University City, which is currently under construction,” said Jacobs. “Upon completion in October 2017, CIC’s facility will be the largest coworking space in the market.”