BOSTON– Co-working space Coalition, which owes more than $2.8 million in back rent and other fees to the landlord, has been forced to shut down its space in Boston, the Boston Business Journal reported.
According to the Business Journal report, a uniformed officer appeared with an eviction notice on Jan. 16, telling members they had 20 minutes to vacate the premises located at 68 Harrison Ave. in Boston’s Chinatown.
“Unbeknownst to many, Coalition Downtown LLC had not paid full rent for 17 months leading up to the eviction,” Boston Business Journal quoted Mai Luo, the building’s landlord and owner, as saying and adding that Luo terminated the lease late last year and took Coalition to court in January.
“He’s now owed more than $2.8 million in back rent and other fees from Coalition, court documents show,” Boston Business Journal said. “All of their members were not aware of this at all,” Luo told the Business Journal. “Many people were very angry that day.”
Boston Business Journal reported that the landlord terminated the lease of coworking space Coalition, in November, and started eviction proceedings. He is in the process of renovating and has reopened the coworking space as CourtYard.
According to Boston Business Journal, Coalition was about 87 percent occupied — an “amazing number” for a co-working facility, Luo said — and owed about $25,000 a month in rental payments.
“The money they collect from their members is almost two times the money they owe to me, so the mystery is why they told me they have no money,” Luo told Boston Business Journal.
“Like many co-working operators, including WeWork, Coalition operated its Boston facility under an individual entity rather than as a single company. Coalition Space still operates four locations in New York and New Jersey,” according to Boston Business Journal.
A number of Coalition tenants are out thousands of dollars in security deposits and rent — which Farhan Abbasi, the general manager of Coalition in Boston, has said the company cannot pay.
