A housing developer is trying something new in New York City: communal living that’s vaguely reminiscent of a dorm room.
Common, a housing startup, wants to create more than a dozen shared-housing units from existing buildings for a more communal living experience, according to the New York Post.
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“The idea is to provide flexible housing options for on-the-go millennials whose work and study situations are increasingly fluid and unpredictable,” the Post wrote.
The single-bedroom rent will be comparable to nearby studio apartments, but the suite will be shared by five renters. The rental contracts, however, will be monthly with lower income requirements for renting as a result. Better flexibility and social interaction, it’s hoped, will draw in residents.
Common CEO Brad Hargreaves envisions a “vetted community” where the attraction of Common rentals is the social aspect, not the price or location.
With more flexibility in the rental agreements, however, transitory occupants seem acceptable, if not favored. Vetting can only go so far.
Common isn’t the only startup building and renting co-living spaces. WeWork, Neuehouse, and Pure Heart have rentals across New York City, San Francisco, and Washington D.C. For some, co-living spaces are more than an apartment. “Co-living spaces blur the line between your work life and your personal life until the two are indistinguishable,” according to Business Insider.
Co-living spaces aren’t exactly a return to hippie communes of the 1960s. A philosophical ethos isn’t driving an alternative lifestyle outside of capitalism and the modern world.
If anything, they’re targeted at entrpreneurs and workaholics. Another startup, Krash, explicitly states their houses “are designed to facilitate collaboration and productivity.” Co-living erases the line between work and life for someone moving to a city to chase a business idea.
Buzzfeed labeled co-living as “the Disneyland version of startup life.” It might not be ideal for raising a family, but it might be a dream for developing an idea.
