Co-working and office space giant WeWork is to build its first branch in Petah Tikva and which will be its second largest branch in Israel. The branch will open in an existing 'white elephant' industrial building near the Geha Interchange in the Kiryat Arieh industrial zone. The converted building will include six floors, 15,000 square meters and 3,000 workspaces of various sizes.
The ground floor of the building will include commercial space and stores. The building, which was built in the 1980s, can be seen from Road 4 to the north of the Geha Interchange and the conversion will be completed in 2020. The building is owned by Ampa Real Estate, which bought the building from Blue Square Real Estate in December 2017 for NIS 50 million. Over the years, the building has been used as a warehouse.
The Petah Tikva branch will be WeWork's 11th in Israel. WeWork has branches in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa and Herzliya. WeWork said it has chosen the Petah Tikva location because of its accessibility to highways and public transport including the Tel Aviv light rail's Red Line.
WeWork Israel general manager Benjy Singer said, "We are delighted to expand our operations to another city in Israel and offer businesses in Petah Tikva and environs the opportunity to grow as members of the WeWork community. Petah Tikva is known as one of the leading cities with dynamic industrial zones and with constant growth in the office real estate sector. After a short period of renovations, the building which was old and neglected will undergo a huge transformation and become a trendy and elegant architectural building."
Petah Tikva Mayor Rami Greenberg said, "As part of my efforts to renew the look of the city, we are striving to renew the Kiryat Arieh industrial zone and make it into an advanced high-tech park that will provide hundreds of jobs for the city's residents."
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on May 26, 2019
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