6 ms·

Founder here! We were totally full when we opened in October. Our next building - also in Brooklyn - opens on January 10th.

gatsby 11y ago
Congrats on the initial traction! I feel like "co-living" is definitely a huge opportunity, and someone will get it right. Curious what you're going to do differently than Campus and several other SF-based companies that had a similar model but couldn't scale beyond 15-20 locations: http://www.businessinsider.com/campus-co-living-san-francisco-new-york-closes-2015-6 http://www.businessinsider.com/campus-co-living-san-francisc...
- thesyndicate 11y ago
  Lots of things - mostly that we have the entire buildings rather than single units, which is particularly important in NYC where we're operating right now. We also partner with real estate funds and investors to purchase vacant buildings rather than leasing units off the market.
tdaltonc 11y ago
How do you keep a small charismatic group from totally dominating the common spaces. In other words, how do you keep them "common," so that even the introverts can feel comfortable using them?
- dopamean 11y ago
  I hate to be exclusionary but wouldn't you think that if you were so introverted that you had a hard time sharing a space with other people then maybe you shouldn't live in a shared situation like this?
  - tdaltonc 11y ago
    Even if everyone in the house is an extrovert compared to the wider world, someone is still going to be the most introverted person in the house. And the most charismatic and extroverted person in the house is going to relatively dominate the common space. It's a recipe for conflict, and if they don't have a formal way to precess that conflict, there's going to be either bloody noses or hurt feeling.
- thesyndicate 11y ago
  Founder here. One, it's important have several different common spaces that are used in different ways. Two, it's about setting specific guidelines about how those spaces are used. Three, it's about selecting for people who tend to be inclusive rather than exclusive / cliquey. So far so good.
  - tdaltonc 11y ago
    That's great to hear. It's hard for me to over emphasize how extremely interested I am in the social and physical architecture of human thriving. I'll be watching Common with wrapped interest.
    - empressplay 11y ago
      The only thing I watch with wrapped interest are Christmas presents =P
rquantz 11y ago
What is the demographic makeup of your residents? Crown Heights is a diverse neighborhood, but I'm betting Common is skewed white, young, and wealthy? I can easily imagine this being a place for start up people who do nothing but work, and only want to live with people like themselves.

gatsby 11y ago

Congrats on the initial traction! I feel like "co-living" is definitely a huge opportunity, and someone will get it right. Curious what you're going to do differently than Campus and several other SF-based companies that had a similar model but couldn't scale beyond 15-20 locations: http://www.businessinsider.com/campus-co-living-san-francisco-new-york-closes-2015-6 http://www.businessinsider.com/campus-co-living-san-francisc...

thesyndicate 11y ago
Lots of things - mostly that we have the entire buildings rather than single units, which is particularly important in NYC where we're operating right now. We also partner with real estate funds and investors to purchase vacant buildings rather than leasing units off the market.

tdaltonc 11y ago

How do you keep a small charismatic group from totally dominating the common spaces. In other words, how do you keep them "common," so that even the introverts can feel comfortable using them?

dopamean 11y ago
I hate to be exclusionary but wouldn't you think that if you were so introverted that you had a hard time sharing a space with other people then maybe you shouldn't live in a shared situation like this?
- tdaltonc 11y ago
  Even if everyone in the house is an extrovert compared to the wider world, someone is still going to be the most introverted person in the house. And the most charismatic and extroverted person in the house is going to relatively dominate the common space. It's a recipe for conflict, and if they don't have a formal way to precess that conflict, there's going to be either bloody noses or hurt feeling.
thesyndicate 11y ago
Founder here. One, it's important have several different common spaces that are used in different ways. Two, it's about setting specific guidelines about how those spaces are used. Three, it's about selecting for people who tend to be inclusive rather than exclusive / cliquey. So far so good.
- tdaltonc 11y ago
  That's great to hear. It's hard for me to over emphasize how extremely interested I am in the social and physical architecture of human thriving. I'll be watching Common with wrapped interest.
  - empressplay 11y ago
    The only thing I watch with wrapped interest are Christmas presents =P

rquantz 11y ago

What is the demographic makeup of your residents? Crown Heights is a diverse neighborhood, but I'm betting Common is skewed white, young, and wealthy? I can easily imagine this being a place for start up people who do nothing but work, and only want to live with people like themselves.