Co-living is becoming a reality. California Landmark Group is including co-living units in its latest multifamily project, C1. The 68-unit project in Marina del Rey's arts district will feature 51 market-rate units, with a mix of studio, one- and two-bedroom configurations, and 17 fully furnished co-living units. This will be the largest co-living project in Los Angeles to date.

Co-living has grown in popularity as a solution to the rampant affordability problem. “We felt there is a need to address the affordability gap and co-living is certainly one of the answers.  it makes sense in many respects,” Ken Kahan, president of California Landmark Group, tells GlobeSt.com. “Everyone knows LA has a huge housing problem.  Given the high cost of housing and the lack of available land to construct new high density apartments co-living is one way to add more housing and more people per parcel.”

While co-living has been a commonly discussed idea, it has not been put to the test at scale. This is largely because co-living units are much more maintenance intensive and require a different business plan. “There are differences to design, financing, marketing and management,” says Kahan. “Creating fantastic communal spaces is the key to making the building successful in the very long term.”