Sunday, Nov 10, 2024

I toured a luxury 'micro-apartment' in NYC where residents can save up to 20% on rent — I liked the posh amenities but the folding bed was a turn off


Alta by common
  • A luxury high-rise has over 400 "micro-suites" with rent ranging from $1,300 to $2,675 a month.
  • Residents have access to 27,000 sq. ft of amenities including co-working spaces and an indoor pool.
  • The tiny bedrooms convert into a living space with mattresses that fold into the wall.
As New York City rent continues to rise, one apartment building in Queens has reinvented the city's infamous shoe-box-sized apartments into luxury "micro-suites."

Pepsi-Cola in Gantry Plaza State Park in Long Island City on March 23, 2015 in New York City.
Pepsi-Cola in Gantry Plaza State Park in Long Island City on March 23, 2015 in New York City.
The 44-floor Alta building is one of many high rises that have popped up in Long Island City in recent years, many of which are still under construction.

Alta by Common
Floors two through 16 of the building are managed by "Common," a company that runs co-living apartments in nine cities across the US.

Alta by Common
While the rooms themselves are tiny, the building has 27,000 square footage of shared amenity space — from co-working lounges to multiple roof decks.

Alta by common
I took a tour of the facilities to check out the appeal of the co-living trend and see why these unique apartments have a 95% occupancy rate, according to the company.

Alta by Common
The unit I toured had 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and a shared kitchen, a layout it shares with 80 of the 165 units. This floor plan is currently listed between $2,156 and $2,200 per room.

Alta by Common floor plan
Alta by Common floor plan
Residents can apply to single rooms or as a group to the whole apartment. The kitchen is the only shared apartment space beyond the bathroom.

Alta by common
An $80 monthly fee covers household essentials including paper towels, toilet paper, and sponges.

Alta by Common
Two of the three bedrooms were roughly the same size, but the first had space for a small desk.

Alta by Common
The focal point of the micro-suites is modular Murphy beds that fold out of the wall.

Alta by Common Alta by Common
In the second room, I removed the couch pillows and tried setting up the bed. With some difficulty, I was able to manually pull out the bed so it rested on top of the futon and then locked it into place.

Alta by Common
A small headboard pops up at the end of the bed, closest to the window.

Alta by Common
Closet space in the smallest of the three bedrooms was minimal.

Alta by Common
But the largest — and most expensive — bedroom had two spacious closets and multiple shelves.

Alta by Common
The cheapest micro-suite currently available on Common's website is listed at $1,664 a month for a 97-square-foot room.

Alta by Common

Source: Alta by Common

Comparatively, the estimated rent for one room in a 3-bed apartment in the neighborhood was $2,484 in November according to Zillow.

Alta by Common

Source: Zillow

One of the major differences between these apartments and a traditional lease is that residents are only responsible for their own room's rent — not the apartment as a whole. So if your roommate can't make a payment or decides to up and leave, it's not your problem.

Alta by common
But their main selling point is definitely the amenities. My personal favorite was this sunlit rooftop lounge located on the forty-third floor.

Alta by common
It's one of several shared spaces throughout the building with tables and desks for remote work.

Alta by common
There's also a catering kitchen that residents can reserve for events.

Alta by common
All Common apartment residents have access to an app to facilitate neighbor meet-ups and organize social gatherings.

Alta by common
For the concrete jungle, the building had plenty of outdoor space — the standout being this rooftop movie theater.

Alta by common
The trade-off between personal space, like an apartment dining room, and shared space, like an outdoor grilling area, may not work for everyone, but it's an intriguing concept for communal living.

Alta by common
Common's co-living homes are most popular among people moving to a new city for the first time. Across the company's 22 New York properties, 43% of residents are new to the city and 32% were born abroad.

Alta by common
With expansive workout facilities including a gym and yoga room, residents don't have to break the bank with pricey gym memberships.

Alta by common
The indoor pool was the building's most unique amenity, with huge windows letting in tons of natural light.

Alta by common
In a city where finding an affordable apartment (and roommates) is challenging to say the least, co-living homes are advertised as an attractive alternative to Craigslist and Facebook.

Alta by common
A co-working area at Alta's Long Island City location.
"Our goal at Common is to keep the good parts of living with roommates," Brad Hargreaves, the founder of Common, told Insider in 2018. "The affordability, the social environments — we're trying to get rid of as many of the annoyances of communal living as we can possibly control."

Alta by common

Source: Insider (2018)

Read the original article on Business Insider
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By: [email protected] (Hannah Towey)
Title: I toured a luxury 'micro-apartment' in NYC where residents can save up to 20% on rent — I liked the posh amenities but the folding bed was a turn off
Sourced From: www.businessinsider.com/micro-apartment-nyc-murphy-bed-rent-alta-coliving-building-photos-2022-11
Published Date: Thu, 10 Nov 2022 20:26:49 +0000

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