Coliving projects, typically aimed at young professionals, offer community and lower rents in exchange for shared spaces.

Local developers of innovative housing insist the coliving trend has not succumbed to the risks of COVID-19, despite reports of its demise. 

Industry players agree that the multifamily rental market has taken a major hit in some urban areas around Greater Boston and across the nation, as many college students stay home and a few tenants flee cities for the perceived safety of the suburbs during the pandemic. Combined with the recent economic downturn, apartment vacancy rates have risen and rental prices have softened significantly as a result. 

The sharp decline has led some to question whether so-called “coliving” ventures – or housing projects in which renters share spaces such as kitchens, bathrooms, common areas and other amenities in exchange for lower rent prices – can survive the pandemic and the shift toward socially distanced work and living arrangements. 

But local developers behind two coliving projects in Boston – 7Ink in the South End and Common Allbright in Allston – says they’re proceeding with their plans and have every intention of opening in coming years. 

Meanwhile, operators of coliving units in other cities say their “shared living” dwellings around the country, including in New York and San Francisco, performed better than expected even during the height of the pandemic. 

“We absolutely continue to believe in coliving,” said Brian Lee, senior director of real estate at New York-based Common, one of the largest managers of coliving spaces in the county. 

‘We’re Very Optimistic’ 

Lee’s company is working as a management partner with local developers Arx Urban and Boylston Properties on the Common Allbright project, which recently won city approvals for its 80-suites of coliving space at 525 Lincoln St. in Boston.  

If all goes well, construction of Common Allbright could start next year, with the facility’s 280 bedrooms available for rent 18 months after the first shovel is turned. 

“We’re huge believers that the demand will be there after the pandemic,” says Benjie Moll, a principal at Arx Urban. “We’re very optimistic.” 

Construction of the 7Ink project begin last winter at 217 Albany St. in South End, with an opening date tentatively set for early 2022, says Ted Tye, managing partner at Newton-based National Development, the project’s developer. 

National Development has indeed modified 7Ink’s 180 units since the onset of the pandemic to address concerns of future tenants who may still be nervous about sharing living spaces with others. Among the recent design changes to 7Ink, according to Tye: more operable windows, improved air filtration, adding smaller meeting rooms, additional spacing in gathering areas and investing more heavily in our outdoor areas.   

Otherwise, it’s all systems go for 7Ink, assuming the current rollout of new anti-coronavirus vaccines are effective in ending the current pandemic, Tye said. 

“Fingers crossed that when we open in 2022, COVID will be far in the rearview mirror,” Tye said. “Coliving has continued to perform well around the world during the pandemic, so I have full faith that it will thrive after.” 

Boylston Properties and Arx Urban plan to break ground in 2021 on Common Allbright, Boston’s second coliving multifamily project, containing 280 bedrooms in 80 coliving suites at 525 Lincoln St. in Allston. Image courtesy of HDS Architecture

Different Models, Common Theme 

The definition of coliving varies from developer to developer, from operator to operator, and from city to city. But all share the common theme of “shared space” to reduce developers’ costs – and to reduce rents in turn. The target demographic is mostly young professionals working and living in expensive metro areas. 

Coliving units contain multiple bedrooms that are leased out on an individual basis. Some coliving units have shared kitchens, but not all. Some provide furnishings, while others do not. 

But all are likely to have shared living/dining rooms – and each floor within buildings usually includes common areas where people can gather and meet. There are also indoor and outdoor common areas accessible to all residents of a building. 

Coliving also usually entails “all–in–one pricing,” meaning monthly rents cover all major utility costs, such as heating, air-conditioning and WiFi. 

At Common Allbright, Arx Urban’s Moll said the “all-in-one” price for a bedroom should average about $1,400 or $1,500 per month, a relatively good deal for area rentals. In addition, Common Allbright’s suites, as its units are being called, will be fully furnished. 

Cost Called Key Factor 

James Stockard, a housing studies lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, said lower rental costs are the key to coliving’s future. As long as operators provide clean, convenient and affordable units that are properly managed, then the concept should work. 

Stockard should know. He himself has lived in a cooperative apartment building in Cambridge for decades – and he said he’s more than happy with the shared-amenities arrangement. 

He compared coliving to “minimalist” trends seen in other types of housing, such as the new citizenM hotel at Boston’s Hub on Causeway, which also provides small and simple rooms with shared public spaces. 

National Development’s 7Ink project originally started out with coliving operator Ollie acting as an advisor. But Ollie was purchased earlier this month by San Francisco-based Starcity. 

National Development’s Tye and Starcity co-founder and CEO Jon Dishotsky declined to say what the current arrangement is between ND and Starcity, though it’s believed former Ollie (now Starcity) employees are continuing to work in an advisory capacity on the 7Ink project. 

Dishotsky said he’s excited about taking over Ollie – and the potential to expand his company’s operations in Boston and across the country. The combined  Starcity will have 1,500 units in its management portfolio, post-merger. 

All multifamily dwellings, and not just coliving units, took a hit as a result of the pandemic, Dishotsky said. But he said the industry is rebounding and the same housing problems will re-emerge again after the pandemic: the lack of affordable housing in major metropolitan areas. 

“The primary reason for coliving is still there – high housing prices,” he said. “As a result, I remain very bullish on coliving.”