Tod Buckvar’s Post

Thrive Living is set to kick off construction early this year on a groundbreaking 800-unit affordable-housing complex situated above a Costco store in South Los Angeles' Baldwin Village - a neighborhood with a poverty rate that is more than double the national average. This innovative development will feature amenities like a rooftop pool and fitness center, with 184 units reserved for low-income households. This marks the first U.S. residential project to integrate a Costco. The rent from Costco will enable Thrive to reduce its dependency on government subsidies. If successful, Thrive's founder, Ben Shaoul, envisions replicating this model to help address the affordable housing crisis. The project is targeted for completion by 2027 and may pave the way for similar future initiatives. #Costco #ThriveLiving #HousingCrisis #HousingSolutions #CommunityImpact #InnovativeHousing #AffordableHousing

The Wall Street Journal | Rebecca Picciotto A real-estate developer in Los Angeles is testing a new blueprint for affordable housing: stack apartments on top of a Costco. Thrive Living is planning to begin construction in early 2025 on an 800-unit affordable-housing complex with the megaretailer on the ground floor in the Baldwin Village neighborhood of South Los Angeles. The project…would have 184 apartments for low-income households. The rent that Costco Wholesale pays Thrive will help the developer rely less on government subsidies for the affordable housing, according to Thrive’s founder, Benjamin Shaoul. Big-box retailers are known primarily for their suburban locations, where the stores are the size of a couple of football fields and surrounded by hundreds of parking spaces. In recent years they have been pushing more into cities with smaller stores and new designs. Target and Whole Foods have anchored apartment buildings to gain access to urban populations. Costco has been exploring different urban strategies for more than two decades and today owns dozens of downtown stores. Baldwin Village, where the new Costco apartment development is planned, has a poverty rate that is more than double the national average. The U.S. Treasury Department has classified the area’s economy as deeply distressed. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass used to live minutes from the site of the Costco project and joined other elected officials in supporting the development in an area she called historically neglected. Private businesses and elected officials throughout the U.S. have been looking for solutions to the affordable-housing crisis. The number of homeless people has surged to a record while U.S. home prices jumped in 2024. The U.S. is short 3.7 million housing units, Freddie Mac has estimated. The Costco project would be the first in Los Angeles to draw on Assembly Bill 2011, a California law that expedites the land-use approval process for developments that meet affordability and labor standards. The law is an example of new legislation in California seeking to untangle the regulatory obstacles that make housing development time-consuming and expensive in the state. Since the law went into effect in 2023, it has been used to permit affordable-housing projects in San Francisco and two small cities in central California, according to California Assembly member Buffy Wicks the author of the law. #SDGs #WalkableUrbanism #20MinuteNeighbourhoods #TimelessUrbanism

I came across this fascinating article in The Wall Street Journal discussing a unique approach to tackling affordable housing: building residential units on top of retail spaces like Costco. It’s an innovative idea that combines the need for urban housing with existing infrastructure, maximizing land use and addressing housing shortages in high-demand areas. This got me thinking: while creative solutions like this are promising, they highlight an even bigger issue—the political and regulatory environment around building housing in the U.S. In many cities, zoning laws, community pushback, and lengthy approval processes make it incredibly difficult to build, even in areas desperate for affordable options. What would it take to create a political and regulatory context where building affordable housing is not just possible but encouraged? Could more partnerships between private developers, retailers, and local governments streamline the process? And how can we balance the need for housing with the concerns of existing communities? The need for affordable housing is urgent, but achieving it requires systemic change. We must foster a political climate that prioritizes housing as a fundamental need. #AffordableHousing #UrbanDevelopment #HousingCrisis #InnovationInRealEstate

As everyone working in economic development knows intimately, one of the greatest challenges facing cities' sustainable and healthy growth is the lack of affordable housing. A low inventory of housing options impacts both current residents and the ability to attract new talent. High interest rates, nimby-ism (not-in-my-backyard), and a lack of available land have greatly impacted cities' ability to solve the housing challenge. While perhaps not the answer for every city, I thought today's article in The Wall Street Journal titled, "Is Living on Top of a Costco the Answer to the Affordable Housing Crisis?" might serve as a bit of inspiration for city leaders, developers, and economic development professionals. Have a read, as oftentimes creative and extraordinary approaches by others offer inspiration for the challenges found in our own communities. (Note: if the article is not available to you, feel free to message me and I will email you a PDF if that's helpful).

ANOTHER NORTH TEXAS SUBURB’S INSANE GROWTH: Exciting developments are brewing in ANOTHER North Texas suburb. Forney’s “Villages at Gateway” master-planned community is getting an HEB, Target, and Home Depot, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg! The suburb, located just east of Dallas, plans to develop more than 102,000 square feet of retail space as part of the 2,000-acre project that is expected to bring more than 2,000 homes to the area. Now, this isn’t the biggest master-planned community happening in North Texas (that honor belongs to Preston Harbor coming to Denison, to house the people who will need to work in Sherman), but 2,000+ homes and these huge retailers are nothing to scoff at! The message you should take away from this is that North Texas is the place to be right now for investors, and that’s why everyone is trying to get a piece of the pie! Ready to explore how you can capitalize on these promising prospects? Don't navigate the market alone! Book a consultation call with CEO Leah Slaughter at Slaughter Investing to get ahead of the game: https://lnkd.in/gRUshBwe READ MORE: https://lnkd.in/gM2BtHDF #ForneyDevelopment #NorthTexasRealEstate #InvestmentOpportunity #RealEstateNews #SlaughterInvesting

NYC PLANNING APPROVES "CITY OF YES" - HOUSING PLAN The City Planning Commission has approved Mayor Eric Adams' "City of Yes"housing plan Wednesday and now goes to the city council for review. "City of Yes for Housing Opportunity” would address the ongoing housing crisis by fixing old zoning restrictions and allow for “a little more housing” in every neighborhood, officials said. More than 100,00 new housing units would be created over the next 15 years. The planning panel passed the plan by a 10 - 3 vote. Some highlights of the plan include making it easier to convert office buildings into housing, more accessory dwelling units options, allowing small apartment buildings near train station and apartments above retail spaces. Douglas Elliman Real Estate Mendelssohn Joseph #CRE #COMMERCIALREALESTATE #INVESTMENTPROPERTY #INVESTOR #MULTIFAMILY #DEVELOPMENT #NYCREALESTATE

With Boston facing declining office values and the end of the office building boom that drove a lot of the City’s budget growth over the last two decades, it needs to find new ways to grow. While differences between how NYC and Boston’s tax systems mean not all of these proposals make sense in Boston, the idea of reducing costs for home-builders by eliminating all parking minimums is one idea that Boston could implement.

Car parks vs more housing. The one thing you can always rely on for submitters being angry about! The key to this is active transport and public transport that is efficient, frequent and safe. Definitely part of the housing affordability conversation.

It's time to look at office-to-residential conversions to fill the pipeline void of residential housing in cities across America. #limitedinventory #citylife #growth #change #realestate

ANOTHER NORTH TEXAS SUBURB’S INSANE GROWTH: Exciting developments are brewing in ANOTHER North Texas suburb. Forney’s “Villages at Gateway” master-planned community is getting an HEB, Target, and Home Depot, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg! The suburb, located just east of Dallas, plans to develop more than 102,000 square feet of retail space as part of the 2,000-acre project that is expected to bring more than 2,000 homes to the area. Now, this isn’t the biggest master-planned community happening in North Texas (that honor belongs to Preston Harbor coming to Denison, to house the people who will need to work in Sherman), but 2,000+ homes and these huge retailers are nothing to scoff at! The message you should take away from this is that North Texas is the place to be right now for investors, and that’s why everyone is trying to get a piece of the pie! Ready to explore how you can capitalize on these promising prospects? Don't navigate the market alone! Book a consultation call with CEO Leah Slaughter at Slaughter Investing to get ahead of the game: https://lnkd.in/gzYJvGwW READ MORE: https://lnkd.in/g4dXu3k2 #ForneyDevelopment #NorthTexasRealEstate #InvestmentOpportunity #RealEstateNews #SlaughterInvesting