Starcity announces major ground-up developments in San Francisco and San Jose, bringing more than 1,000 new coliving units to key urban centers in the Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 17, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Today Starcity, the startup pioneering community-based living, has announced two major ground-up coliving projects in the San Francisco Bay Area - Minna, a 270 unit building planned for Minna & 5th Streets in the centrally-located SoMa area of San Francisco, and Bassett, a nearly 800 unit building planned for downtown San Jose, three blocks from Caltrain's Diridon Station.

Starcity develops mid- and high-rise coliving neighborhoods and converts underutilized multi-family, hotel, and office buildings to coliving properties, adding to a city's housing stock without displacing current residents. Each member of a Starcity community has a fully-furnished private bedroom and private or shared bathroom, and access to shared living spaces like kitchens, sitting areas, and TV areas. Leases are designed with flexible terms, and one convenient monthly payment includes residential utilities and shared supplies, as well as shared services like home cleaning, with the option to add on other services like laundry or dog walking. Designed to foster community and social interaction amongst its members, Starcity delivers a welcoming living experience while adding three times as many units of housing to the market compared to traditional apartment rentals.

"Both projects will bring to fruition a concept we've been working on since we founded Starcity - vertical neighborhoods. Our goal is to make urban living accessible to all, and by developing large co-living projects like Minna and Bassett, we're able to create neighborhoods within each development, fostering community in high-density urban areas," said co-founder & CEO Jon Dishotsky. "Both projects will accommodate not just single people, but couples, families and event multi-generational families, helping Starcity serve a more diverse group of people who want to remain in urban centers."

"To truly make an impact on the housing deficit in California, we need to look to developments that serve both low-income and middle-income residents, especially in our core urban centers near public transit," said Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), author of SB 35, which will be used to streamline the San Francisco project. "A solution like Starcity can help provide critically needed housing at scale, and help cities like San Francisco and San Jose retain our middle class families and workforce. I am proud that this development, with a large percentage of affordable housing, will be streamlined by SB 35."

Both projects are slated to open in 2021 and feature:

• Minna: Located at 475 Minna, building will have 270 coliving units, 50% of which will be affordable housing. The project will break ground in Q2 2019.
• Bassett: Located at 199 Bassett, building will have 750-790 units, and will be the largest coliving development in the world. Rents will be targeted at 80% median area income.

"Developing housing close to public transit is critical as we work to relieve our skyrocketing housing costs, and reduce congestion and commute times," said City of San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo. "We welcome companies like Starcity, that leverage innovation to build high-density housing in the heart of our city, allowing people to remain in San Jose and enjoy our community's growing vibrancy."

About Starcity
Starcity creates beautifully designed co-living communities by identifying underutilized or abandoned multi-family, hotel, and office buildings to renovate, adding to a city's housing stock without displacing a community's longtime residents. Starcity offers its members a private, fully furnished bedroom, complemented by shared kitchens and living spaces, so residents can opt-in to be a part of a greater community while living in comfort. With community-building at its core, Starcity works with local community stakeholders and nonprofits to understand the neighborhood in which they offer housing, offer volunteer and engagement opportunities to its residents, and become a source of energy and opportunity for the neighborhoods in which they offer housing. Software makes the entire process work with a suite of products that making living as a group efficient and enjoyable. Founded in 2016 by CEO Jon Dishotsky, Chief Product Officer Mo Sakrani, CTO Josh Lehman and COO Jesse Suarez, Starcity employs 35 people and has offices in San Francisco and Los Angeles.

SOURCE Starcity