San Francisco hops on micro-unit train: VIDEO

Though New York City is following San Francisco’s footsteps in its tech start-up focus, the Bloomberg administration has the lead on the micro-unit front. The City by the Bay’s Board of Supervisors will vote on whether to allow allow for the development of units as small as 220 square feet, CNBC reported (see video above).

San Francisco is one-upping New York in just how small those units will be. The Kips Bay micro-units — whose development attracted the interest of several high-profile developers — would measure between 275 to 300 square feet.

The West Coast micro-units would include a living room, kitchen, bathroom and closet. The living room alone would need to be 150 square feet. Rents would come between $1,200 to $1,700 a month — less than the city’s average, which tops $2,000 per month.

Plan supporters say micro-units would be good for the reported 41 percent of San Francisco residents who live alone, whereas opponents say it would drive families out of the city. [CNBC]