Co-living startup partners with Worthe Group for first LA location

CEO Jon Dishotsky, Jeff Worthe, and the Venice location

Starcity, a San Francisco-based co-living startup that converts underutilized commercial properties to residential buildings, is entering the Los Angeles market.

The firm, in partnership with local developer Worthe Real Estate Group, will launch its first community living location in L.A. this month, the company announced.

Located at 29 Navy Street in Venice, the renovated property will offer 31 fully-furnished rooms. The building was formerly used as corporate housing. Now, each Starcity member will have access to shared living spaces like kitchens, a rooftop barbecue area and TV rooms, with the option to sign on to other services like housekeeping or dog walking.

A membership at the Starcity Venice location will range from $2,200 to $3,100 per month, and includes base rent, utilities and twice-weekly housekeeping in the common areas, a spokesperson for the company said. Leases will be available in three, six and twelve-month terms.

The company hopes to eventually lower rents to $800 per month, the spokesperson added. As of now, their target population makes between $50,000 to $120,000 per year.

Starcity also recently opened an office on Abbot Kinney Boulevard, where dozens of its own employees will work. The company is planning to open more co-living communities in the region, including developing a ground-up project with over 100 rooms.

Led by CEO Jon Dishotsky, Starcity owns and manages four properties in San Francisco Bay Area. It has nine other properties under development, according to a company statement.

Co-living companies have been expanding in housing-strapped cities such as L.A. and San Francisco, where affordability is a major issue for most people, including recent college graduates.

New York-based Ollie, another co-living startup, is in the process of converting the former Cecil Hotel into a complex with 301 micro-unit. It is slated to open in late 2019. Treehouse, another startup, is already working on a 60-bedroom community in Hollywood, which will include a library and two-story gym.