Major landlords are embracing co-living

Co-living is no longer the exclusive domain of t-shirt wearing real estate executives. Major developers like the Durst Organization and Property Markets Group are jumping onto the shared-living bandwagon.

Durst is testing the concept at Frank 57 West, a 10-story building on the Far West Side next to its Via 57 West property between West 57th and 58th streets that launched in July, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The developer included a dozen co-living apartments – each just a bit larger than 1,000 square feet – with features like two bathrooms with doors that indicate whether or not they’re occupied.

“We have a new three-bedroom building design that we are testing in the marketplace, and we have received a very strong response,” said Dan Mogolesko, Durst’s vice president of residential leasing.

Co-living units in the building range from $6,200 to $7,200 per month – or about $2,067 to $2,400 per person – and command a significant premium over traditional units. A one-bedroom goes for about $68 per square foot, while a three-bedroom co-living unit leases for $79 per square foot.

PMG said a new division named PMGx has about 5,800 apartments in the pipeline and plans to include co-living spaces in them. The company began offering 30 co-living units in Chicago and has more in the works throughout the country, but none in Manhattan.

“In the end of the day we control the process from soup to nuts,” PMG principal Ryan Shear said. “From buying the land to creating the product.”

Co-living is still a niche market, but it’s gaining traction. Early adopters like WeLive, Common, Ollie and Founder House have partnered with or received backing from developers like Boston Properties, Vornado Realty Trust and Rudin Management, among others. [WSJ] – Rich Bockmann