Chicago, IL, Aug 4, 2021 — Today the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, and WeWork announced a strategic partnership to help foster post-pandemic economic recovery by supporting a safety-focused, flexible return to work for local businesses. The partnership with Chicago is the fifth of its kind for WeWork, which has launched partnerships focused on supporting local economies with the cities of New York, Washington, D.C., San Francisco and Miami this year.
As Covid-19 continues to shape and reshape return-to-work efforts, the economic prosperity of industries relying on downtown foot-traffic is severely impacted. To help foster economic recovery, cities are increasingly looking for hybrid solutions that provide businesses with a focus on both safety and flexibility. By providing resources and incentives to local businesses, as well as access to safety-focused, hybrid space and key data, the Chicago x WeWork partnership aims to help businesses return to work and to support local communities.
“We are proud to partner with WeWork to help Chicago come back stronger than ever this fall and beyond,” said Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot. “As leaders, it is vitally important that we help our residents and businesses adapt to unprecedented events and help them rebuild their sense of community, which in turn makes our city stronger and more resilient. Partnerships like the one forged with WeWork will help our businesses find the space they need to not only safely return to work, but also continue enriching our neighborhoods and our entire city.”
“We are focused on the future of Chicago’s economy and building a collective voice for our communities to help them thrive. Our partnership with WeWork will allow us to not only support economic growth, but also help small businesses navigate a complicated return to work amidst unprecedented times,” said Samir Mayekar, Deputy Mayor of Economic and Neighborhood Development of Chicago. “We’re happy to partner with WeWork and support a safety-focused, community-building return to work and revitalize economic growth in our city.”
The Chicago x WeWork partnership is the fifth of its kind for WeWork. As part of the partnership, members of Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce will have access to certain incentives, including 1 month off of dedicated space when making a 6 month commitment, 2 months off of dedicated space when making a 12 month commitment, or a discounted WeWork All Access membership. Such incentives have been particularly helpful in “accelerating the return to work for small businesses,” as companies “aren’t saddled with upfront costs” and can also choose an appropriate size footprint for their business, according to Jessica Walker, President of the Manhattan Chamber and a leader in WeWork’s existing partnership with NYC.
“WeWork is excited to partner with the city of Chicago and strategically support a return-to-office that helps the local business community,” said Sandeep Mathrani, CEO at WeWork. “As Covid-19 has fundamentally changed the way people work, businesses have had to rethink their approach to workspace. With WeWork’s unique ability to quickly provide companies large and small with flexible solutions for the new hybrid world of work, we hope to help Chicago businesses find what works best for their needs.”
WeWork has made the health and safety of its global members and employees a priority throughout the last 18 months. Its pandemic response plans, sanitization enhancement, space modifications, air quality control and other health and safety measures have been independently audited and endorsed by Bureau Veritas and awarded a certificate of conformity. WeWork has also retained world-leading medical services company International SOS to serve on its COVID-19 response team and provide strategic direction on medical considerations on an ongoing basis.
In addition to safety-focused flexible space and key incentives, data analysis has played a critical role in WeWork’s partnerships nationwide. According to a recent report by JLL, cities should turn to data such as space usage, mobility, health, and worker sentiment when planning their post-pandemic efforts. As part of the Chicago x WeWork partnership, WeWork is utilizing data to help Chicago fully understand trends and track the impact of change.
Since March, localized WeWork data shows a 165% increase in WeWork On Demand bookings in Washington, D.C. and a 487% increase for WeWork All Access memberships in New York City. Similarly, Miami has seen a 76% increase in WeWork On Demand bookings since April. As the partnership begins in Chicago, WeWork will provide similar data, tailored to the city’s priorities.
“Accelerating Chicago’s economic recovery and providing support to businesses across the region is critically important to our future,” said Jack Lavin, President and CEO of the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce. “The Chicago x WeWork partnership provides chamber members and Chicago’s business community with a new, flexible way to return to office and support our economic revitalization.”
About WeWork
WeWork was founded in 2010 with the vision to create environments where people and companies come together and do their best work. Since opening our first location in New York City, we’ve grown into a global flexible space provider committed to delivering technology-driven flexible solutions, inspiring spaces, and unmatched community experiences. Today, we’re constantly reimagining how the workplace can help everyone, from freelancers to Fortune 500s, be more motivated, productive, and connected. For more information about WeWork, please visit us at wework.com.
About the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce
The Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce is a nonprofit organization that represents more than 1,000 member companies, which collectively employ 400,000 employees and generate $24 billion in revenue. The Chamber combines the power of membership with its legacy of leadership and business advocacy to drive a dynamic economy. To learn more, visit www.chicagolandchamber.org.
