In addition, WeWork recently launched its HQ by WeWork program of office spaces marketed to mid-sized companies. For this product and service line, WeWork recently signed two Manhattan leases. One was for five floors, the second through the sixth at 130 Madison Ave., totaling slightly more than 11,000 square feet. The second lease was at 483 Broadway for approximately 10,000 square feet spanning the second and third floors. WeWork members will move into both locations during Q1 2019.

Just last week, the flexible office space provider Knotel signed an 11,940 square-foot lease for the entire fifth floor at 80-90 Eighth Ave., between 14th and 15th streets in Chelsea. Newmark Knight Frank brokers handled the deal with Michael Morris and Greg GiGioia representing Knotel and Morgan Feldman and Scott Brown, representing the landlord, Newmark Family Properties.

At the same time, Knotel also announced it inked a deal for 10,400 square feet, the full fourth and fifth floors at 155 Fifth Ave., between W. 21st and W. 22nd streets in the Flatiron District. Built in 1893, the seven-story Beaux Arts structure is known as the Scribner Building because it once housed the headquarters of the publishing company, Charles Scribner's Sons.

“Our growth in New York City shows no sign of slowing down,” says Eugene Lee, global head of real estate & business development at Knotel. “Alongside many of our other recent partnerships with some of the city's top landlords, these locations reflect our expansion in Midtown South, as well as a continuously growing interest in flexible office space.”

Elie Reiss of Skylight Leasing represented Knotel, while Michael Liss and Samuel Spillane of CBRE represented the landlord, Eretz Group. These transactions followed Knotel's signing multiple leases in the past month, with its New York City portfolio totaling 1.5 million square feet.

Transwestern's recently published Manhattan office report underscored the trend of co-working and flexible leases.

“If you had to sum up the highlights from Q3 in one word, it would have to be 'co-working,'” says Danny Mangru, research manager at Transwestern. “Co-working firms accounted for almost 20% of all leasing activity this quarter, with four leases exceeding 100,000 square feet.”

Overall, office leasing activity is doing fairly well, he says. He points out that Transwestern's Q3 figures show the seven million square feet of office space leased is down from last quarter's 10 million square feet. But year-to-date office leasing is up 4% over last year's total.