So why shouldn’t co-living spaces have recording studios and green rooms?
This is Hollywood, after all. And Leeor Maciborski, founder of the Eddy brand of housing, knows what his target market wants.
“We have recording studios for podcast-terms,” he says. “And there are green rooms where members can self-tape and view their content on a phone or camera – and use it for free.”
Eighteen-to-35-year-old students, post-grads, and interns new to L.A. need something different in housing, he contends. And Eddy fills that niche. “It’s hard to find flexibility, especially for people who are here three to six months at a time,” he says. “A long-term lease doesn’t work – and furniture is a problem.”
Eddy is all about convenience. People come in from the airport with their luggage and plop down. “They’re singles – and they might be artists,” he says. “Film and television has exploded, post-Covid, and people are coming here to create content.”
Olive oil and cooking materials are already on hand in a shared kitchen. And after about six months, when they’ve gotten their bearings and need something more permanent, they can rent something with a long-term commitment.
Lastly, Eddy is about being cheaper. People can combine resources for better housing at better costs. “It’s $699 per month at entry level for college students,” he says. “There are private rooms, mostly for people 25 to 30 years old, at $1,400 to $1,800 per month.”
That’s a bargain, when a new studio apartment in Hollywood can run $2,100 a month, plus parking, utilities, cable, and rent for a recording studio. “It’s for entrepreneurial people who need something that will not wreck their checking account, but be affordable,” he says. “It’s reducing their rent burden by 50 percent.”
Construction costs are slashed as well. Eddy offers only two parking spaces per building, when the cost of a single underground spot can cost as much as $50,000. “Co-living tenants don’t need all those spaces – they use bikes or rideshares or scooters,” he says.
And for young people who haven’t yet developed a credit record, Eddy is a boon. “There’s no security deposit or credit check,” he says. “If you’re 22 and have no credit, it’s hard to get an apartment – so we try to look around that if someone looks like a good tenant for us.”
Eddy’s a concept that’s thriving, with 300 total beds in three buildings – and three more underway. And Maciborski has his eye elsewhere.
“We’d love to be next to UCLA – it makes sense to be around schools,” he says.
And potentially, across the nation.
For more, go here.
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