The company has added properties in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and Los Angeles to its standard housing portfolio in a new partnership.
Common will be furthering its reach into the multifamily sector’s traditional housing model with two communities in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and Los Angeles. The company, known for its start as a co-living provider, has partnered with Nuveen for two of its properties totaling 575 units.
Common has already taken over management responsibilities at The Edge, Nuveen’s Fort Lauderdale property located at 475 N. Federal Highway. The 331-unit community offers studios, one-, two- and three-bedroom floorplans with rents starting at $1,607. The amenities include a pool, a resident clubhouse, a fitness center, a recreation room, bike storage and covered parking. According to Yardi Matrix data, The Edge is 90.9 percent occupied.
In July, Common will also manage Stella, the 244-unit community at 13488 Maxella Ave. in Los Angeles. The community offers studios, one-, two-, three-bed units and the residents get access to an outdoor grilling area, lounges, a pool with a hot tub, a fitness center, a conference room, a business center, a private screening room, a bike kitchen, a dog park and washing station and valet dry cleaning. Yardi Matrix data shows that Stella has a 93 percent occupancy rate.
Both properties will incorporate Common’s proprietary app that gives The Edge and Stella residents access to weekly virtual events and programming, a platform to chat with neighbors and other Common residents, digital maintenance and repair requests and discounts to local business and other brands.
Common will also be taking over the leasing and sales of the properties and will provide virtual tours, increased interaction from the member experience team and replacement options for security deposits.
Jake Chai, Common’s senior director of real estate, told Multi-Housing News that Nuveen was initially interested in finding a co-living provider. After going through 60 operators, Nuveen went with Common and will be opting for a hybrid approach with The Edge and Stella, Chai told MHN. He added that the two properties were currently 100 percent traditional housing but can expect to have around 25 percent of the units converted into co-living spaces.
Chai also told MHN that Common has worked with other big institutional real estate companies, like Tishman Speyer and the Canadian REIT Dream, but Nuveen is the largest so far. Common considers the Nuveen partnership a major milestone for the company and a marker for the type of partnerships in the future, according to Chai.
MAKING CO-LIVING MORE COMMON
With The Edge and Stella, Common currently manages 48 multifamily buildings in eight cities across the U.S. While the company started as a co-living provider, Common has transitioned into a variety of multifamily spaces including micro-units and traditional housing. Common also widened its approach by launching Noah Living, its brand that focuses on workforce housing, in May.
Chai told MHN that after working with some more traditional housing options, the company saw an opportunity to bring its tech-focused management approach to all types of multifamily housing while also incorporating co-living options.
