Mixed-use developments, where people can live, work, and play, are rising in popularity, according to a new RentCafe study.
Findings show that apartments in buildings that have residential, office, and retail space have quadrupled in the past decade, from 10,000 units in 2012 to 43,700 completed units in 2021. Utilizing Yardi Matrix data, RentCafe finds that the number peaked during the pandemic, with 49,100 apartments in live, work, play buildings opening in 2020.
Today, there are approximately 580,000 apartments in live, work, play buildings nationwide, more than double the amount in 2011.
“Being able to live, work, and have fun without leaving your building is most appealing to the largest renting generation—millennials, especially the younger half of this age group of renters,” said the RentCafe study. “In fact, according to Census data, 40% of renters who reside in live-work-play buildings are younger millennials.”
While 2021 saw a slowdown in live, work, play building construction, Doug Ressler, manager of business intelligence at Yardi Matrix, attributed it to supply chain shortages and price increases for construction materials and labor. However, he said he expects to see “a rebound in 2022 rental housing deliveries” for these types of mixed-use developments.
Some of the key findings from the study include:
- Manhattan leads the nation for the number of apartments in live, work, play buildings. At 89,500 units, this accounts for one-fifth of the total nationwide figure and more than the following four cities combined—neighboring Brooklyn with 26,100 units, Washington, D.C., with 20,500 units, Chicago with 18,700 units, and Los Angeles with 18,600 units;
- Washington, D.C., built the most apartments—17,300 units—in mixed-use buildings from 2012 to 2021; and
- Los Angeles is slated to become the next No. 1 market for new live, work, play development, with 17,600 future units to be built starting this year. Miami is working on 15,900 future apartments, followed by Chicago with 15,800 planned units.
