Harvest Properties, an Oakland, Calif.–based property developer, has always been cautious about the risks of leasing space to WeWork. But in recent months it had overcome those concerns and—until this week—was close to striking its biggest deal yet with the co-working giant. Harvest was going to lease hundreds of thousands of square feet in a downtown San Jose office building to WeWork.
But those discussions are now on hold, as WeWork’s new management rethinks expansion plans and landlords pull back from striking deals with the company, aware of the risks they face if WeWork pulls out of agreements.