The Zoomers invented the communal apartment and called it "coliving", users on social networks joke, calling this format "a hostel at a greatly inflated price." But the communes of the XXI century do not even think of disappearing: moreover, the appearance of multi-storey coliving rooms, designed for hundreds of residents, has been announced in Moscow and St. Petersburg.
We found out from experts what are the advantages of this format, why it is transforming and enlarging, and what are its prospects in Russia.
Coliving are a special format of housing in which the infrastructure of the complex and its public areas play a huge role. Each guest is offered a small personal space (room or room) and many additional functions outside of it - from a coworking space and a cinema to a fitness room and daily trainings, master classes and lectures.
@ YaroslavConway / twitter.com
Until now, Russian coliving houses were small hostels or communes of interests and lifestyle - for vegetarians, Oriental lovers or entrepreneurs. But now this market is changing. In St. Petersburg, they announced the construction of "the largest coliving in the world", and in Moscow - the beginning of the construction of the first coliving skyscraper.
From aparthotel to coliving
Petersburg is accustomed to the idea that coliving is something original, closed, only for its own people. To get into such a commune, often located in a former communal apartment, one even has to undergo an interview, says Alina Bazaeva, an analyst at the Colliers Research Department.
Therefore, the market met the news of the beginning of the construction of the largest coliving in the world with considerable surprise. Three 26-storey buildings cOasis by Vertical with an area of 82 thousand square meters. m on Moskovsky Prospekt are not drawn to a communal apartment for vegans. But the developer, Becar, claims that the basic principle of coliving, which is to divide residents according to common values, will be respected in such a large-scale project.
cOasis by Vertical / vertical-o44.ru
“We plan to place residents according to their interests: by forming various groups, we give impetus for growth and interaction,” says Nikolay Pana, director of development for the Vertical hotel chain. At the same time, the space remains open: no one bothers those who settled in with conventional start-ups to have dinner with lovers of Asia.
cOasis by Vertical / vertical-o44.ru
The developer is sure: today's guest does not need a spacious room, he wants communication. And by reducing personal space, it will be possible to offer multifunctional platforms for socialization - personal acquaintances, establishing useful contacts, joint creativity and leisure.
The developer already has a project that Colliers considers a transition from an apartment hotel to coliving - We & I by Vertical, which was launched in September 2020.
We & I by Vertical / vertical-invest.ru
This is an apart-hotel with coliving elements: there are community managers who are responsible for organizing leisure activities. Guests are engaged in fitness, read and listen to lectures, play board games, hold parties with DJs, watch movies in their cinema.
We & I by Vertical / vertical-invest.ru
During the day, residents work in a coworking space, and in the evening they gather in a bar. According to the developer's idea, this concept will be worked out even deeper in the new coliving.
Fashionable, youth
Another example of a new coliving format is AFI Tower residential complex from AFI Development in Moscow. The only thing in common with the St. Petersburg project is the scale. The main difference is that AFI Tower is housing: the complex consists of apartments in which you can issue permanent registration.
Afi Tower Residential Complex
But there is also an infrastructure obligatory for coliving: public spaces on the first and minus first floors occupy a total of 1.1 thousand square meters. m. This is a large coworking space, a cafe, a lounge space with a movie projector, a beauty salon, and a laundry. The developer also plans to open a fitness room with spa, hammam and sauna.
Afi Tower Residential Complex
Although the skyscraper also provides multi-room apartments with an area of about 100 sq. m, the main offer is small studios with transformable furniture. AFI Development calls this housing format a youth housing.
Where to get so many hipsters?
It would seem that there is a contradiction: if the format implies a narrow segmentation and life “among friends”, how does this compare with the idea of a large-scale project for several hundred, or even thousands of residents? The authors of macrocoliving answer: we need to look much wider.
“Potential residents of the tower are active buzzers and millennials aged 23 to 37,” comments Irina Emelina, head of the analytics department at AFI Development. - The main social demand of the new generation is to be different, to live differently. This is an affordable housing solution for young buyers. ”
Obviously, coliving is not always suitable for office workers and families with children. But for single young people who are just starting their careers in a creative or entrepreneurial direction, this format provides more than just housing.
The audience is similarly imagined at Becar, but the emphasis is on mobile people and medium-term rent. Nowadays they travel mainly
ijital specialists with high purchasing power. This is a category of guests that is not tied to a specific place and is constantly in search of inspiration, says Nikolai Pana. “The expected period of placement in coasis coliving will be from one to four months - this is the standard period for the implementation of projects in IT,” he predicts.
Market experts are also betting on the format of temporary residence. It is much more interesting for a young renter to come to Moscow or St. Petersburg for a couple of months and live in coliving than in a rented apartment or in an ordinary hotel.
“The main consumer of this format is millennials who want a mobile lifestyle and financial flexibility: not owning real estate, changing their place of residence and traveling, not paying a mortgage. The coliving experience allows you to acquire useful contacts, these spaces attract freelancers with the chance to live and work in one place. "
Alina Bazaeva,
Analyst at Colliers Research Department
The expert believes that coliving is one of the answers to the sharing economy developing in the world.
How much is life in a modern commune?
The cost of apartments in AFI Tower is from 6 million rubles, while the minimum price for a one-room option in other projects in Sviblov, according to AFI Development, is about 8 million rubles.
For this money, the buyer gets housing and the opportunity to use the entire infrastructure of the complex. The issue of paying for additional options has not yet been resolved, but, most likely, it will be symbolic for the residents of the tower, the company assures. To date, just over half of buyers have purchased apartments for their own living, the remaining 46% are investors.
This format of housing is still unusual for Russia - it is important that it is not more expensive than the market average, says Kirill Golyshev, director of the residential real estate department at Colliers. Otherwise, buyers will move to a more understandable format of an ordinary LCD.
It's different if coliving works like a hotel. Traditionally (the format came from Europe) the cost of renting such rooms is slightly higher than the market average. This is understandable: the price includes not only accommodation, but also additional options: coworking, play areas and all events - from educational to entertainment. Residents of "hotel" coliving no longer need to pay for them.
According to experts, in the coming years, the cost of renting in Russian coliving will be comparable to the average rates in apart-hotels or lower. The new format has not yet taken root in our country, and tenants need to get used to it.
We & I by Vertical / vertical-invest.ru
So, in We & I, which has been operating for six months, the prices are comparable to the rent of ordinary housing - about 20 thousand rubles per month for a studio. Nikolay Pana explains that the low season, the pandemic and the absence of foreign tourists are to blame. As soon as the situation changes, the rates will go up.
BECAR ESTIMATED OVER 90% OF COLIVING RESIDENTS WILL BE TENANTS. ONLY 2% OF BUYERS ARE NOT INVESTORS, BUT BUY A ROOM FOR OWN RESIDENCE (MAINLY FOR STUDENT CHILDREN) IN ORDER TO TRANSFER THE NUMBER TO THE MANAGEMENT OF THE UK OF THE COMPLEX.
The future of new housing
Large-scale coliving houses are just being built; at least two years will pass before they are settled. Most likely, the pandemic will be over by then, and the hotel industry will return to previous levels. But experts warn: if a new pandemic breaks out with restrictions and lockdowns, colivings will be the first to be hit. But they will be the first to recover: young active tenants will quickly return to their usual life.
With proper content of the project, provision of appropriate services, "dormitories of interest" will become an interesting product for the younger generation, Kirill Golyshev is sure.
Moreover, the trend has every chance of spreading to the suburban market. “Summer cottage coliving has already appeared - a combination of several private houses with a common territory and infrastructure,” explains Olga Shirokova, director of the consulting and analytics department at Knight Frank. - Everyone has their own home, but playgrounds, gardens, vegetable gardens are common. This type of housing unites people who are close in spirit and outlook. " According to the expert, this format has good prospects.