flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

Manager of New York’s first micro-unit development inks pact with ‘personal butler’ service

Multifamily Housing

Manager of New York’s first micro-unit development inks pact with ‘personal butler’ service

The co-living platform Ollie is leasing its initial building, in New York, with housekeeping and grocery shopping available via Hello Alfred.


By John Caulfield, Senior Editor | January 8, 2016

Ollie at Carmel Place in New York offers its renters furnished apartments and a host of hospitality services. Photo courtesy Ollie

Since November, Stage 3 Properties—which designs, markets, and manages rental properties in partnership with developers and investors—has been leasing Ollie at Carmel Place, a 55-unit building that is New York City’s first micro-unit multifamily development, with apartments ranging from 260 to 360 sf.

Stage 3’s “Ollie” platform offers renters the option of fully-furnished studios and shared suites, as well as access to amenities in nearby facilities that include work spaces, juice bars, pools, gyms, spas, and lounges. Ollie will even help renters find suitable roommates through its Bedvetter service.

The “all-inclusive” experience that Ollie is marketing also includes hotel-like services such as housekeeping. This week, Stage 3 announced the signing of a multiyear agreement with Hello Alfred, a personal butler and on-demand concierge service that, starting next month, renters at Carmel Place can sign up for and access through a mobile app.

Hello Alfred is a weekly subscription service that sends a background-vetted “Home Manager” to a renter’s home to take care of basic house cleaning (bed making, kitchen cleanup, etc.), laundry, dry cleaning, clothing and shoe repair, package shipping, and grocery shopping. The service starts at $32 per week.

Ollie is now Hello Alfred’s sole micro-unit partner, and charges for the services provided are already included in the quoted rents for residents.

Alfred’s CEO, Marcela Sapone, told BloombergBusiness that customers at other apartment buildings have used the service for everything from organizing receipts and meeting a cable repair person to refilling a Koi pond. If the helper isn’t able to tackle a particular job—such as plumbing or professional cleaning—he or she will find someone who can for the renter.

 

Monadnock Development assembled Ollie Carmel Place with factory-built modules for the micro apartments. The building in New York will be ready for renters to move into in the first quarter of 2016. Photo courtesy Monadnock Development.

 

Rents at Carmel Place run up to $3,150 per month, but 22 apartments are more affordably leased. “Carmel Place is a perfect fit for Ollie,” Chris Bledsoe, Stage 3’s Founding Partner, told Curbed NYC. “With 40% of the units allocated to low- and middle-income New Yorkers, the message of ‘inclusiveness’ is already an integral part of the community and the experience at the building. Additionally, the small unit sizes at Carmel Place afforded us an opportunity to demonstrate to the world that efficient units don’t inherently require a reduction in quality of life.”

Ollie at Carmel Place—which was once going to be called My Micro NY—was designed by nARCHITECTS and developed by Monadnock Development, which assembled the building from modular components. The development cost was $16.7 million.

Stage 3’s next market could be Los Angeles, according to its website. Hello Alfred currently has locations in New York, Boston, San Francisco, and L.A. 

Related Stories

MFPRO+ New Projects | Oct 30, 2024

BIG’s One High Line finally reaches completion in New York City’s West Chelsea neighborhood

One High Line, a luxury residential project spanning a full city block in New York’s West Chelsea neighborhood, reached completion this summer following years of delays related to investor lawsuits. 

MFPRO+ New Projects | Oct 30, 2024

Luxury waterfront tower in Brooklyn features East River and Manhattan skyline views

Leasing recently began for The Dupont, a 41-story luxury rental property along the Brooklyn, N.Y., waterfront. Located within the 22-acre Greenpoint Landing, where it overlooks the newly constructed Newtown Barge Park, the high-rise features East River and Manhattan skyline views along with 20,000 sf of indoor and outdoor communal space.

Multifamily Housing | Oct 28, 2024

A case for mid-rise: How multifamily housing can reshape our cities

Often referred to as “five-over-ones,” the mid-rise apartment type is typically comprised of five stories of apartments on top of a concrete “podium” of ground-floor retail. The main criticism of the “five-over-one” is that they are often too predictable.

Adaptive Reuse | Oct 22, 2024

Adaptive reuse project transforms 1840s-era mill building into rental housing

A recently opened multifamily property in Lawrence, Mass., is an adaptive reuse of an 1840s-era mill building. Stone Mill Lofts is one of the first all-electric mixed-income multifamily properties in Massachusetts. The all-electric building meets ambitious modern energy codes and stringent National Park Service historic preservation guidelines.

MFPRO+ News | Oct 22, 2024

Project financing tempers robust demand for multifamily housing

AEC Giants with multifamily practices report that the sector has been struggling over the past year, despite the high demand for housing, especially affordable products.

Products and Materials | Oct 17, 2024

5 multifamily tech products for your next project

Multifamily housing and technological upgrades go hand-in-hand. From the rise in electric vehicle charging needs to the sophistication of smart home accessories, tech products are abound in the multifamily space.

Codes and Standards | Oct 16, 2024

North Carolina’s code policies likely worsened damage caused by Hurricane Helene

The North Carolina Legislature’s rejection of building code updates likely worsened the damage caused by Hurricane Helene, code experts say. Over the past 15 years, lawmakers rejected limits on construction on steep slopes, which might have reduced the number of homes destroyed by landslides. 

MFPRO+ News | Oct 16, 2024

One-third of young adults say hurricanes like Helene and Milton will impact where they choose to live

Nearly one-third of U.S. residents between 18 and 34 years old say they are reconsidering where they want to move after seeing the damage wrought by Hurricane Helene, according to a Redfin report. About 15% of those over age 35 echoed their younger cohort’s sentiment.

Student Housing | Oct 9, 2024

University of Maryland begins work on $148 million graduate student housing development

The University of Maryland, in partnership with Campus Apartments and Mosaic Development Partners, has broken ground on a $148.75 million graduate student housing project on the university’s flagship College Park campus. The project will add 741 beds in 465 fully furnished apartments.

MFPRO+ News | Oct 9, 2024

San Francisco unveils guidelines to streamline office-to-residential conversions

The San Francisco Department of Building Inspection announced a series of new building code guidelines clarifying adaptive reuse code provisions and exceptions for converting office-to-residential buildings. Developed in response to the Commercial to Residential Adaptive Reuse program established in July 2023, the guidelines aim to increase the viability of converting underutilized office buildings into housing by reducing regulatory barriers in specific zoning districts downtown. 

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category




halfpage1

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021