THE OLD CENTRAL Bank headquarters on Dublin’s Dame Street will re-open today as the flagship Irish location for co-working space provider WeWork.

The property was the HQ of the Central Bank from 1979 to 2017, but has been closed since.

Global real estate investment firm Hines and Peterson acquired the site in 2017 and in 2022, redeveloped it into a mixed-use complex with offices, retail units, restaurants, and a two-story rooftop venue.

The building was leased to WeWork in 2018, and at that time it was envisaged that the company would be in the building before the end of 2019.

WeWork will be the main tenant of One Central Plaza, taking up office space totalling 73,000 square feet over eight floors in the building.

Across the eight floors, WeWork will house around 1,500 desks, as well as office suites and conference rooms.

At time of opening, WeWork One Central Plaza is at 50% occupancy.

WeWork has three other locations in Dublin, in Charlemont Exchange, 2 Dublin Landings, and Iveagh Court.

Minister for Enterprise Trade and Employment Peter Burke, said he is “delighted to see the opening of WeWork’s offices at Central Plaza”.

Meanwhile, WeWork’s chief revenue officer described Dublin as a “burgeoning business hub and a key market”.

He said today is a “significant moment” for WeWork as it “enters a new phase for the company”.

Last week, WeWork secured final court approval for its restructuring plan, paving the way for it to exit Chapter 11 bankruptcy next month.

This was seen as a crucial milestone for the once high-flying startup that had been weighed down by excessive lease obligations and unsustainable losses.

Under the restructuring, WeWork achieved more than a 50% reduction in long-term lease obligations, shaving off approximately $12 billion (€11b) in future commitments.

The company also eliminated over $4 billion (€3.7b) in debt from its balance sheet, emerging from bankruptcy debt-free.

The reorganization plan marks a dramatic turnaround for WeWork, which was once valued at a lofty $47 billion (€43.2b) before mounting losses and corporate governance concerns triggered a spectacular downfall in 2019.

The new plan also put an end to a bid by ousted WeWork co-founder Adam Neumann to buy the company.

Neumann was forced out of the company in 2019 with an exit package worth hundreds of millions of dollars, while the company’s value was slashed to $8 billion (€7.4b).

-With additional reporting from- © AFP 2024