Costco's bold new plan for the California housing crisis

[alwaysinasnit]

https://www.sfgate.com/la/article/costco-housing-apartments-south-la-19541521.php

Costco, the international bulk grocery chain known for its warehouse looks and difficult-to-beat deals, is hard at work on what could be considered its biggest new product launch in years: affordable housing.

An approved upcoming Costco location in South Los Angeles (the Baldwin Village/Crenshaw area specifically) is slated to open in the coming years, and it combines the company’s more-is-more brand with a novel new approach to residential construction. The project, to be built by developer Thrive Living and architects AO, was first announced early last year in a press release that revealed renderings of a mixed-use model with multiple floors, open courtyard spaces and other amenities. All told, the build would encompass not only the Costco store (and necessary parking) but a whopping 800 residential units, including 184 set aside specifically for low-income tenants.

What the renderings don’t show, though, is the complicated — and ingenious — way that Thrive Living is actually putting the Costco development together.

According to real estate analysts CoStar, this entirely new mixed-use model isn’t just something novel for Los Angeles, it “may have national retail implications for Costco.” That could mean smaller footprints, more transit-oriented openings, or Costco itself getting even further into the housing market.

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[Demovictory9]

1. Wow..i know the area

Thx for posting this

[Demovictory9]

2. From a plan view, it looks like an old school prison design."

“I think the comparison to a prison wasn’t perfect,” Cohen candidly admits of his post, which X says has been viewed nearly 3 million times. “Living inside it won’t be like living in a prison, obviously. But it is a bunch of small units along these long hallways, with a massive recreation center as an amenity space. From a plan view, it looks like an old school prison design.”

[alwaysinasnit]

3. You're welcome. I must admit, what I find peculiar is that apparently the living space designs don't

seem to have much in the way of storage space, and given the fact that Costco sells items in large packages, I am not sure how much benefit Costco will derive from the residents.

[jmbar2]

4. Reminds me of Asian housing

We may need to adopt a lot higher housing density to meet affordable housing needs. It works pretty well in Asia.