A first-of-its-kind Costco with 800 apartments is coming to the Baldwin Hills neighborhood of South Los Angeles, Census Reporter found.
The complex includes 184 units for low-income households, with the remainder offered as a mix of unsubsidized, affordable and workforce housing. The building will also have a rooftop pool and fitness center.
The downstairs Costco will have 185,000 square feet of space and two levels of underground parking. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the average size of a Costco in the United States is 146,000 square feet, placing Costco above average.
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Real estate developer Thrive Living is set to begin construction on a Costco property in early 2025, according to a report published earlier this month. The Wall Street Journal. When built, the complex will be the first residential area with a Costco downstairs in the country.
Photo Credit: Develop Living
Thrive Living founder Ben Shaoul told the WSJ that Costco will pay rent for the space, and the proceeds will help Thrive Living rely less on government subsidies for the complex’s affordable housing units.
If the model works, Shaul says he wants to build “not hundreds, but thousands and thousands of apartments” using the same concepts.
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The Costco apartment complex will cost $425 million to build and is expected to be completed in 2027.
Construction of the complex will create thousands of jobs, and the opening of Costco will create up to 400 new jobs, according to a Thrive Living press release.
The project is the first to receive approval under the Assembly Bill of 2011, or the Affordable Housing and Highway Works Act. The California law, which took effect statewide on July 1, 2023, speeds up the approval process for projects that meet affordability and labor criteria.
Related: Costco is increasing hourly wages for employees, according to an internal CEO memo