WeWork ’s long - term lease in the former Lord & Taylor building , for which they are paying well above the market rate , is costing $ 73.5 million annually . Originally planned as its headquarters , the leased area is nearly twice as much as any of WeWork 's other Chicago - based offices at nearly 700,000 square feet . WeWork can only break the lease if the company goes bankrupt . There is a conflict of interest with the building owned by WeWork Property Investors ( ARK ) who bought the building for $ 850 million and then leased the space to WeWork , the operating company . Equity and Starwood Property Trust gave ARK a $ 600 million mortgage for the Lord & Taylor building purchase .
WeWork’s long-term lease in the former Lord & Taylor building, for which they are paying well above the market rate, is costing $73.5 million annually. Originally planned as its HQ, the floor area is nearly twice as much as any of WeWork's other city-based locations at nearly 700,000 square feet. WeWork can only break the lease if the company goes bankrupt. There is a conflict of interest with the building owned by WeWork Property Investors (ARK) who bought the building for $850 million and then leased the space to WeWork, the operating company. JPMorgan and Starwood Property Trust gave ARK a $600 million mortgage for the Lord & Taylor building purchase.