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For those who don't desire a one year lease or their own apartment: Co-Living — Brooklynian

For those who don't desire a one year lease or their own apartment: Co-Living

whynot_31
whynot_31
edited July 2015 in Crown Heights/Prospect Lefferts Gardens
http://therealdeal.com/blog/2015/07/16/co-living-startup-common-raises-7-3m-in-series-a/

I am interested in seeing how successful this model works in Crown Heights.

It really serves young people who are fresh out of college well. I believe the units come with basic furnishings, so one only needs their own clothing and laptop.

Another benefit: Potential dating pool lives within building.
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Comments

  • mugofmead111
    mugofmead111
    edited July 2015
    http://therealdeal.com/blog/2015/07/16/co-living-startup-common-raises-7-3m-in-series-a/

    I am interested in seeing how successful this model works in Crown Heights.

    It really serves young people who are fresh out of college well. I believe the units come with basic furnishings, so one only needs their own clothing and laptop.

    Another benefit: Potential dating pool lives within building.
    That would make it that much more awkward if there were a breakup. 
  • whynot_31
    whynot_31
    Agreed. But people coped in college, and this seems to just be an extension of sleep away college.

  • southeast
    southeast
    I'll take them as a neighbor.  I imagine the place will be taken care of pretty well, and although young and fun loving, I presume those able to pay that kind of rent will be working 50+ hours a week and very tired by the time they get home.  They will likely be relatively quiet neighbors.

    Definitely better than what I have now.
  • whynot_31
    whynot_31
    The new buildings with very small, rental units (341 EP) seem to have only slightly less transient tenants.

    Some are med students and new corporate lawyers.
  • pragmaticguy
    pragmaticguy
    I wonder how this is going to work because these buildings now go from being individual apartments to SROs and rooming houses. They're under a whole different set of rules, not only from the city but from insurance carriers as well. There's a fine line here that borders apartment sharing but still, I can see NYC all over this.
  • whynot_31
    whynot_31
    As long as they lease the units for more than 30 days, they seem to not violate the rules that pertain to hotels.

    I believe each apartment has a bathroom and micro kitchen, so they skirt the SRO and rooming house rules.

    Micro apartments are a similar trend, but -from what I have read- do not seem to be going after the group that seeks a less than one year lease.
  • pragmaticguy
    pragmaticguy
    edited July 2015
    Rooming houses have what are called "kitchenettes". Sometimes a stove, sometimes a microwave and a refrigerator. Many of them have bathrooms. This still looks like that kind of a situation. Also, there may be overcrowding issues. I have clients who own rooming houses where the tenants have been there for years.
  • whynot_31
    whynot_31
    These are priced in such a way that I think they will have regular turnover.

    Also, I expect there to be lots of screening on the front end re: type of income, quantity of income, etc.

    The goal seems to be to fill them with people who are rarely home.
  • whynot_31
    whynot_31
    edited July 2015
    Some won't even decorate...
  • ehgee
    ehgee
    edited July 2015
    There aren't easily-available middle grounds between hotels & long-term leases these days, unlike when there used to be YMCAs and similar options— just Craigslist sublets, which can be a crapshoot to actually move into. Now there's AirBnB as well, but the corporate setup where you pay a little more for a sure option (as opposed to showing up at a random apartment and hoping someone's home) definitely has value.

    I certainly would have considered such a living situation for a month or two when I first moved to the city and was seeking a longer-term option.
  • whynot_31
    whynot_31
    It is a good fit for a lot of people: https://technical.ly/brooklyn/2015/07/30/brad-hargreaves-common-co-living-crown-heights/
  • pragmaticguy
    pragmaticguy
    This seems worse than having roommates as the people that you share with can come and go as they please. In addition, I'm wondering what refusal rights one has. Say the person, is someone that the others really can't get along with. At least with a roommate you know who you're with when you move in together.
  • whynot_31
    whynot_31
    edited July 2015
    In Craigslist "roommate wanted" situations, you really only get to know that the applicants can act pleasant for 30 minutes.

    Because there is always one roommate who seems to be home there ALL THE TIME, I found such situations to be tolerable only when I was out of the house a lot.

  • pragmaticguy
    pragmaticguy
    I've never had to room with anyone and since I went to college locally I didn't have to put up with dorm mates but when my daughter went to Pratt she couldn't wait to get her own room in a dorm. Cost about $1100 a term extra but she didn't have to put up with any crazies (and they didn't have to put up with her).
  • whynot_31
    whynot_31
    In college, I think I found the rommate who believed that "being his roommate meant being his best friend" the worst.

    He was a likable guy, and we hung out on occasion. However, he felt that I had far more obligations to his social life, than I felt I had to his social life.
  • whynot_31
    whynot_31
    More on "Pure House", the co-living space:

    http://gothamist.com/2015/08/02/disrupt.php
    As is the case with most businesses, not everyone has to like the Pure House product; They merely need to have enough customers to survive.

    It is starting to remind me of the Officers BOQ.

    https://www.dodlodging.com/html/MB-hawaii.htm
  • whynot_31
    whynot_31
    edited September 2015
    They have already received 150 application for their 19 units.

    http://technical.ly/brooklyn/2015/09/16/common-crown-heights-co-living-rockets-out-of-the-starting-gate/
  • mike dunlap
    mike dunlap
    Are these rooms all going to be in one building or scattered across a few?  Which building(s) in Crown Heights?
  • whynot_31
    whynot_31
    http://technical.ly/brooklyn/2015/09/16/common-crown-heights-co-living-rockets-out-of-the-starting-gate/
  • mike dunlap
    mike dunlap
    http://technical.ly/brooklyn/2015/09/16/common-crown-heights-co-living-rockets-out-of-the-starting-gate/
    There are no answers to my questions there, but thanks for posting the link again.
  • dac545
    dac545
    There seem to be a few locations being looked at and possibly multiple would open in the fall.  Some could be large buildings and some could be brownstones. 

    Articles that I'm seeing from July indicate that the location(s) is/are TBD. 

    http://www.brownstoner.com/blog/2015/07/co-living-startup-moving-brooklyn-brownstones-raising-7-35-million/
  • whynot_31
    whynot_31
    edited September 2015
    Yes, the link I posted references a 19 bed complex, called The Common.

    150 applications seems substantial, but I hope the people are not nutty or broke in some way.

    This group of buildings seems like it would be a good, but ambitious use: http://www.brooklynian.com/discussion/46153/1432-1440-pacific-st-near-kingston-will-come-back-to-life
  • mike dunlap
    mike dunlap
    Articles that I'm seeing from July indicate that the location(s) is/are TBD.
    Thanks.
  • whynot_31
    whynot_31
    edited September 2015

    I think I might last a week:

    "Common will open its first dwelling at an as-yet-unannounced address in Crown Heights in mid-October, Hargreaves said. Residents will pay between $1,500 to $2,200 a month for one of its 19 private furnished bedrooms, which are grouped into suites and conjoined by shared kitchens, bathrooms, and living areas, plus a common area for the entire building.

    The company doesn’t actually own the buildings — investors are buying them and leasing them back to the company — but will act as landlord and den mother — buying the toilet paper, taking care of all the gas and power bills, cleaning, and organizing social activities like Sunday-night potluck dinners."

    “They can really open up, they can become vulnerable, they can really share themselves, and in doing so you create an environment where others can do the same and a really magical experience emerges,”

     

     

    http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/38/40/dtg-common-boarding-house-2015-09-25-bk.html
  • pragmaticguy
    pragmaticguy
    As I said in a previous post and the article linked to above states, these building are now becoming boarding houses which are governed by different rules than regular apartments not to mention they are insured differently. I'm wondering if the city will have to issue permits for this kind of use in buildings where the certificate of occupancy does not specifically state these buildings are suitable for SRO.
  • whynot_31
    whynot_31

    I have never seen an SRO described as a place to have magical experiences. 

  • pragmaticguy
    pragmaticguy
    Hey....imagination is a wonderful thing.
  • whynot_31
    whynot_31
    edited October 2015

    This sounds like it is going to attract people who want to make up for lost childhoods by bonding, sharing and caring. 

    The family and mother they never had.

  • pragmaticguy
    pragmaticguy
    Hopefully that's not the case. Because 150 lonely (or soon to be formerly lonely) people in a few buildings may result in some unique situations. I see a reality show in the making sort of like "Jersey Shore" but in a high rise.
  • whynot_31
    whynot_31

    It sounds like the founder will be disappointed if normal people show up, who -say- just want some place to sleep while they look for their own apt.

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