Miller Workspaces

The Driver

The client, Sun Venture, had flex operator WeWork hand back their entire tenancy on short notice. They appointed CIVIS to help provide guidance in their negotiations and take over the management of the space on a short timeline with the goal of optimisation and profitability.

CIVIS worked to right size the flex operation, engaging with leasing agents to hand back some of the space for traditional leasing opportunities.

After two years of successfully establishing the new brand and workspace operation, the client elected to pivot and secured a coworking operator on a traditional lease. CIVIS facilitated the transition of the workspace and the retention of the established coworking community to the new operator, optimizing the space utilization and prioritizing the landlord’s interests.

The Solution

Sun Venture partnered with CIVIS to take over the operation of their WeWork ready-built coworking space ~3,114 square meters on GF, L1,L2 & L4 at 50 Miller Street.

A key need was to quickly take over management seeking to retain the existing customers. This was a challenging task due to WeWork’s desire to move their customers to their other active sites and remove their infrastructure from 50 Miller. The CIVIS team managed this process to be as seamless as possible, setting up Miller Workspaces to relaunch as profitable as possible.

The CIVIS team worked with the client to put the Asset’s needs first, proposing to a right sizing strategy for 50 Miller Street. The CIVIS operated the workspace over GF, L1, L2 & L4 immediately with the goal to compress the flex customers into GF, L1 and L2 only, thus freeing up L4 to be leased to a larger traditional tenant as that interest arose.

The CIVIS team worked with the Sun Venture team to rebrand the space. The brand and all collateral are owned by the client. The space relaunched under the name Miller Workspaces.

Sun Venture has full ownership of Miller Workspaces with CIVIS engaged under a management agreement, being the engine that runs and activates the space. The CIVIS team transitioned to management with minor further investment by the client within 3 months.

The CIVIS team successfully transitioned the operating business and workspace to a new operator, supporting the client’s preferred investment strategy for the building after an operating term of 15 months. This arrangement benefited the client by retaining and expanding flexible occupancy while they sought a traditional lease over the space. The transition, facilitated by our flexible Management Agreement structure, demonstrates CIVIS’s commitment to prioritizing landlord interests.