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
By Andrew DixonNovember 23, 20224 mins read88 Views
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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.
Ben Hider/Getty Images
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.
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Floors two through 16 of the building are managed by "Common," a company that runs co-living apartments in nine cities across the US.
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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.
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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.
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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
Common
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.
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An $80 monthly fee covers household essentials including paper towels, toilet paper, and sponges.
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Two of the three bedrooms were roughly the same size, but the first had space for a small desk.
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The focal point of the micro-suites is modular Murphy beds that fold out of the wall.
Hannah Towey/Insider
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.
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A small headboard pops up at the end of the bed, closest to the window.
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Closet space in the smallest of the three bedrooms was minimal.
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But the largest — and most expensive — bedroom had two spacious closets and multiple shelves.
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The cheapest micro-suite currently available on Common's website is listed at $1,664 a month for a 97-square-foot room.
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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.
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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.
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But their main selling point is definitely the amenities. My personal favorite was this sunlit rooftop lounge located on the forty-third floor.
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It's one of several shared spaces throughout the building with tables and desks for remote work.
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There's also a catering kitchen that residents can reserve for events.
Hannah Towey/Insider
All Common apartment residents have access to an app to facilitate neighbor meet-ups and organize social gatherings.
Hannah Towey/Insider
For the concrete jungle, the building had plenty of outdoor space — the standout being this rooftop movie theater.
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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.
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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.
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With expansive workout facilities including a gym and yoga room, residents don't have to break the bank with pricey gym memberships.
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The indoor pool was the building's most unique amenity, with huge windows letting in tons of natural light.
Hannah Towey/Insider
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. A co-working area at Alta's Long Island City location.
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"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."
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Source: Insider (2018)
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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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