Rents increase at WeLive, WeWork’s Wall Street co-living space

[UPDATE: A representative for WeLive has reached out to clarify that WeLive rents now reflect market-rate pricing, whereas many prior tenants were part of a discounted beta program. The article has been amended to reflect these changes.]

Aspiring co-livers on a budget, be aware: According to The Real Deal, rents at WeWork’s Wall Street co-living will rise once again come January. Only new renters arriving at WeLive will be affected by the rent increase.

Called WeLive, WeWork’s lifestyle project is an all-inclusive intentional community catering to monied millennials—basically, it’s a swanky dorm for adults with a bright startup aesthetic, offering group activities, unlimited beer, and pre-furnished apartments.

When the first outpost opened in April at Rudin Management’s 110 Wall Street, a studio was going for $2,000 under the project’s limited beta run, open to WeLive employees and their friends and family, while a four-bedroom apartment would cost around $6,000 per month.

But no more. Since then, prices in the building have been on the steady decline to reflect market rates. Come January, new tenants looking to subscribe to the coliving lifestyle will be dishing out $3,050 for a studio.

“We’re incredibly pleased with the performance of WeLive,” a WeLive spokesperson told TRD. “The test period for the building is coming to an end; the pricing now reflects market rates.” The company claims the occupancy rate is in the high 90s.

WeWork rent includes the many benefits of WeLiving: there’s a yoga studio and a movie theater, networking events, and potlucks. Earlier this fall, one happy resident told Vice News Tonight about the Sunday family dinners and the unlimited coffee, and you can’t put a price on friendship. (You kind of can put a price on coffee, though?)

But while the company says they’re pleased with where WeLive’s headed, launching the co-living spaces has been bumpier than anticipated. As TRD points out, WeWork only has two WeLive spaces so far—the one on Wall Street, and one in Crystal City outside DC—rather than the 14 spaces they’d planned on having up and running by the end of 2016.

One issue: it’s been a lot more expensive to convert existing buildings into WeLive spaces than the company anticipated, explains the Wall Street Journal. In the future, they’ll be putting new WeLive locations “mainly in newly built developments that can be custom designed.”

• WeWork raises the rent at Wall Street co-living space … by a lot [The Real Deal]
• Startup WeWork Planning 205-Unit Wall Street Tower [Curbed NY]
• What it's like to work in a WeWork—and live in a WeLive [Curbed NY]
• WeWork Misses Mark on Some Lofty Targets [Wall Street Journal]