Haute 100: LeFrak Helps Finance New Residential Startup in Venture Funding Round

With more and more millennials moving to big cities and rent continuing to skyrocket, Brad Hargreaves decided to cofound a coliving company called Common. Common offers flexible, community-driven housing by providing fully furnished, month-to-month memberships, beginning in New York City

Thanks to Haute 100 listers LeFrak, among others, on Wednesday, June 15^th the company has raised $16 million in a new venture funding round. The round was led by Investment firm 8VC. In addition to LeFrak, the Milstein Family’s Circle Ventures, Solon Mack Capital, the Maveron, Lowercase Capital, Slow Ventures and Pierre Lamond also chipped in

With the addition of $16 million, Hargreaves plans to spend a good portion on improving technology so it in turns improve communication with coliving members.

For those of you unfamiliar with Common, its first residential space in Brooklyn is a 19-room apartment building located in Crown Heights on Pacific Street. The 7,300-square-foot property features a number of amenities including free onsite laundry, professional weekly cleaning, high speed Wi-Fi, and modern kitchen appliances. There is a private rooftop and 1,800 square foot garden-level space, which offers plenty of room to work, relax and dine. The Pacific Street location opened in the fall of 2015.

Earlier this year, Common opened a second location in Crown Heights on Albany Avenue. It features many of the same aforementioned amenities, but also includes two levels of community space that boast a game room complete with a fireplace. Common also opened its largest residential space, a 20,000-square-foot home in Williamsburg, on South 3rd and Havemeyer Streets. This location can accommodate as many as 51 people, each gets their own room, but share kitchens and other spaces. There is a third Crown Heights location slated to open in July, and Common will have coliving residences in Washington DC as well as San Francisco by the end of the year.

In the last venture funding round, Common raised $7.35 million.

Featured image from Havemeyer Street location