In New York, Related Cos. is known for mega-projects like Time Warner Center and Hudson Yards — the largest development in New York City since Rockefeller Center. But across the pond, the developer is trying a very different model: micro-units.
Pocket Living is based in London but co-owned by Related. And, true to its name, the developer just delivered a collection of tiny, one-bedroom flats to the London market, according to Bloomberg.
Pocket’s new London apartment are just 409 square feet – only a couple of feet larger than the minimum requirement for one person with no bathtub by city law. But petit size doesn’t mean low-cost in London’s ultra-competitive housing market. Apartments at Pocket’s new development have sold for between roughly $204,000 and $370,000.
And now that they’ve conquered the London market, Pocket and Related hope to expand into other urban markets.
“We would love to see their ideas, if not their direct product, translate into other markets, into other cities,” Ken Wong, chief operating officer in New York, told Blooberg. “The question of whether it fits into the building codes and whether the business can work … is going to be the challenge.”
[Bloomberg] –Christopher Cameron