On a recent tour of affordable housing projects in the Downtown L.A. area aimed at both solving and preventing homelessness, I was introduced to a “co-living” community, a new concept that provides lower-cost housing without government subsidies.
The concept offers smaller sleeping spaces in shared housing, with communal kitchens, bathrooms and living spaces.
I learned about this concept when a group from the California Association of Realtors toured the PodShare facility created by founder Elvina Beck.
Beck’s model of co-living seeks to provide low-cost housing in a desirable location with only a modicum of privacy.
Beck also removes the upfront cost of moving in – there is no security deposit, all utilities are included in the rent, and there is no lease agreement.
Residents can stay for one night or one year, paying $50 per night, $250 per week, or $1000 per month.
Beck’s pods fit the bill for travelers, and she does have her units listed on Airbnb.
Other residents tend to be those either new to the area, who want to get their bearings before they sign a lease, or those in transition to a new work location and haven’t had time to find a new home.
A couple returning from Cambodia on their way home to Mexico City was checking in while I was there.
In addition to the downtown site, PodShare has five other locations in Venice, Westwood, Hollywood, Los Feliz and San Francisco.
The PodShare DTLA is 2,000 square feet of rented space housed in a former commercial building. It has a communal kitchen, two bathrooms, two showers, a hang-out room, and twenty bunk beds in a totally open U-shaped room.
Each bunk bed has a TV, a small shelf, and a towel bar on the back wall. A chalkboard between bottom and top bunks is used to provide the bunk number and the name of the current resident.
There are no closets or bureaus, but there was room for suitcases under the bottom bunk. The style was very urban chic with rustic, wood and industrial metal accents. The space was clean, the vibe was friendly, and the residents seemed to be happy to be there.
Digging a little deeper into other co-living options in the area, I discovered that this format is much more prominent than I realized, and there are any number of ways to structure it.
Looking into Node, StarCity, UP(st)ART, Aviato Club, Hadrian Club my head started to spin. There are co-living facilities that focus on millennial professionals, millennials in the high tech/IT field, and others that provide professional recording studios, musical instruments, and a stage for performances.
Some of these are private clubs that require you to apply for membership, some have an application fee, and at least one does not charge a deposit.
Most provide bed linens and a bath towel; all have a community kitchen, shared bathrooms, and a common living area. Some are single-family residential homes, others are converted apartments or commercial space.
None provide anything other than street parking.
Several have age restrictions, one from 18 up to 35, another 18 to 60. Only one looked like you could book by the day for $35; several required a three-month minimum commitment, and one required a 30-day commitment.
Rents ranged from $695 to $2,400 per month.
One facility only offered multi-person accommodations for 2, 3 or 5 people. Some allowed overnight guests and another forbade it. At least one accepts dogs up to a certain weight.
Who knew?
Leslie Sargent Eskildsen is an agent with Realty One Group. She can be reached at 949-678-3373 or leslie@leslieeskildsen.com.
CORRECTION: It would cost about $250 billion to provide all the low-income and subsidized housing units needed to eliminate the homelessness crisis in Los Angeles. Due to a reporter’s error, the amount was wrong in a column that ran in the Oct. 6 edition of the Real Estate section.