US: The City of Miami, whose residents are considered the most rent-burdened in America, has approved the development of coliving units in four districts near the city centre.
The City of Miami has updated its planning and zoning code to permit coliving in the Civic-Health District, Urban Central Business District and Neighborhood Revitalization Districts 1 and 2 in Wynwood.
The new code defines a coliving unit as a shared living quarters consisting of private bedrooms and bathrooms with a communal space that includes a full kitchen with direct access to the outside or a common hall.
Each unit is allowed a maximum of six coliving rooms. A coliving room is defined as a single bedroom within the unit. A coliving room must be at least 180 square feet (16.7 square metres) and cannot exceed 400 square feet (37 square metres).
Background documents state the city “recognises the growing demand for accessible housing options, including coliving concepts, incorporated in urban centre and urban core areas where there is significantly less reliance on automobiles and enhanced utilisation of bicycle and transit facilities that connect to places of employment and other services”.
It’s unclear whether developers have applied to build coliving units within the city yet. However, a project was recently approved in nearby Miami Beach. In May, the Miami Beach City Commission authorised an ordinance to allow for a coliving and micro-unit project on Washington Avenue.
The project, URBIN RETREAT, is being developed by Location Ventures and will offer more than 10,000 square feet of leasable workspace and a combined 125 living spaces across hotel rooms and coliving residences. It is to include 48 coliving apartments and 72 micro-units.
Last year, Miami surpassed New York City and Los Angeles as the most expensive housing market in the US. In June 2022, the Biden administration called Miami the “epicentre of the housing crisis”.
