Costco's bold new plan for the California housing crisis [View all]

[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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