Common CEO Brad Hargreaves and Proper Development-built Common Melrose in Hollywood
Co-living company Common and Los Angeles developer Proper Development are planning a $100 million expansion in L.A.
Proper Development will build seven apartment buildings with 600 beds over the next two or three years in L.A., and Common will operate and manage them, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Common already operates two co-living buildings in the city — in Echo Park and Hollywood. Its units come fully furnished and include utilities as part of the monthly rent. Tenants share some spaces like kitchens, and there is also regular housekeeping services.
The co-living model has its detractors, but investors have poured money into the space. Through last August, Common had collected about $60 million since its founding in 2015. New York-based Ollie has raised $15 million to fuel its own Los Angeles expansion, while British-based Collective had raised $400 million. The Real Deal talked to Hargreaves and other figures in co-living last year about how the model has evolved in the last several years.
The co-living model is billed as a convenient and more affordable alternative to traditional renting.
Rents at Common’s Hollywood location, a Proper Development-built 24-unit complex called Common Melrose, are around $1,550 per person.
Common founder Brad Hargreaves said the company received 9,000 applications for Common Melrose, according to the Times. Rates were around 20 percent cheaper than competing studio-style units nearby, he said.
Proper Development is led by Daniel Pourbaba, son of 4D Development & Investments CEO David Pourbaba. The firm’s latest project to get moving is a 21-unit development in Hollywood. [LAT] — Dennis Lynch