Co-living startup Common is making its first foray into Manhattan.
The company is partnering with YD Development for a project at in Hell’s Kitchen, Common said in a statement Thursday. Dubbed Common Clinton, the project has begun construction and is slated to open next year. Curbed first reported the news.
YD Development is redeveloping the 11,000-square-foot building at 424 West 47th Street, and Common will serve as the property manager. Common Clinton will have 32 beds and will be the startup’s most energy-efficient home. Brooklyn SolarWorks will install a solar canopy, and the project will also have motion sensor lights, low-flow plumbing fixtures and smart thermostats.
YD bought the property through an LLC — 424 W 47 LLC — for $8.05 million last October, according to records filed with New York City’s Department of Finance. The seller was Fountain House, a nonprofit focused on mental health issues.
Common opened its first New York City project in 2015 — the same year it raised $7.35 million in Series A funding. It is now on track to have more than 20 projects in the city over the next two years, the company said in the statement. Last year, it raised about $40 million in a new funding round.
Some of Common’s more prominent projects include taking over Adam America’s entire 69-unit rental development 595 Baltic Street in Boerum Hill. Monthly rents at the project, Common Baltic, start at $2,150. The startup is in other neighborhoods including Park Slope, Crown Heights, Williamsburg and Prospect Lefferts Gardens — as well as Ridgewood in Queens.
Common is among several players in the co-living industry, which has been gaining financial backing. Ollie, a competitor, was in talks to raise more than $50 million in a new venture funding round, sources told The Real Deal in September. If it closes, the round could make Ollie the best-funded co-living company in the country. And Bungalow raised $14 million in a Series A funding round in August. It was led by Khosla Ventures, Atomic VC, Founders Fund, Cherubic Ventures and Wing Venture Capital.
Even New York City is getting in on the trend. The Department of Housing Preservation and Development is slated to launch a pilot program, dubbed ShareNYC, that will let developers access public funding for more affordable co-living projects.