Dive Brief:
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Co-working giant WeWork said it plans to open its largest building yet — a 36-story, mixed-use tower in Seattle that will use 23 floors for the company's co-living concept, WeLive, according to Bloomberg.
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Seattle-based Martin Selig Real Estate is slated to develop the project, which will include 384 furnished apartments, ranging from studios to four-bedroom units, that can be rented daily, weekly, monthly or on a yearly basis, GeekWire reported. The building will also include retail space and common areas.
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This project will increase WeLive's stock of communal living buildings to three. The company currently has co-living buildings in New York City and Arlington, VA.
Dive Insight:
WeWork is expanding rapidly through its real estate portfolio of co-working and co-living spaces and also through its breadth of services. The company's office spaces, which typically cater to small companies and startups, are known for their unique, amenity-rich designs — so much so that established companies have begun to hire WeWork to design their spaces, too.
In April, the company made that new revenue stream official with the announcement that it would formally offer design, construction and management services. IBM is one early customer for that business with the announcement this spring that it plans to move as many as 600 employees into one of the co-working company's buildings in New York City, taking over the entire 70,000-square-foot space.
WeWork also continues to expand its construction technology prowess with its purchase of project management application FieldLens in June. The company said the acquisition will aid in its construction and design efforts.
That activity continues to draw the interest of investors. WeWork raised $760 million in Series G funding last month, increasing its valuation to $20 billion.
The company's WeLive division has some healthy competition in the co-living space, however. It joins HubHaus, which raised $1.4 million of first-round funding in May, as well as Property Markets Group, in vying to draw residents who either can't find or don't want a standard apartment. Unlike some co-living companies that target the millennial demographic, however, WeLive said its members represent diversity in age and lifestyle.