The American warehouse chain store Costco is known for selling almost everything needed for daily life: food, groceries, tires, gasoline, vacation packages… And now, Costco is venturing into the housing sector.
On Wednesday, September 18th, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass announced a new project breaking ground: a partnership with Costco to develop affordable housing.
“We are breaking the old way of doing things, pushing Los Angeles to take unprecedented actions through collaboration between the public and private sectors, which is what we need to do today,” said Bass.
“We thank all the collaborative partners for achieving this milestone today, and we will continue this urgent work,” Bass added.
This comprehensive building, with 800 apartments, will be located in South Los Angeles, above a new Costco store. There will be 184 units dedicated to low-income housing, while the rest will serve as unsubsidized, affordable, and workforce housing.
Chair of the Los Angeles Housing Authority Board, Cielo Castro, stated that the affordable housing will be available to households with annual incomes of $41,610 or below, with rent set at $1,040 including utilities.
The project is expected to create thousands of construction jobs and 400 permanent jobs at Costco.
It is projected to take two and a half years to complete, featuring facilities such as a fitness center, high-tech shared workspaces for residents, student learning spaces, community rooms connected to courtyards, and a rooftop pool.
This housing project is privately funded by the national real estate company Thrive Living.
Jordan Brill from Thrive Living mentioned that local residents requested Costco to support the project. He added, “Costco’s principles and mission align perfectly with our vision for this project.”
(This article was referenced from reports by ABC and CBS)