Ana Martínez (Urban Campus): “We plan to open 30 residential spaces in the next 5 years, 10 of them in Spain”.

Together with Ana Martinez, chief operating officer of Urban Campus, Brainsre.news analyzes the state of the ‘coliving’ market in Spain.

Ana Martinez is Chief Operating Officer at Urban Campus, a Paris-based company focused on the acquisition and management of residential and office buildings (coliving and coworking) whose portfolio of real estate assets includes five buildings in Spain and two in France.

Urban Campus is the first operator of complete coliving buildings in Spain. As precursors of this model, how do you think this format is received by a society like the Spanish one? 

The residential market (both in Spain and in other countries) required a solution that adapted to the current needs of the population. This led us to launch our coliving model in the market. In other European countries as well as in the United States, coliving is more than established, and at first in Spain, it was understood as a solution aimed at students and short-term rentals. However, throughout the years that we have been working in this market, we are already managing to reverse this perception. This residential model has been very well received and the truth is that the waiting list to move into our spaces is expanding. At first, the most common profile was the foreign professional, but today there are more and more local residents who, for different reasons, are opting for coliving.

Who would you say is your target audience?

The typical tenant of Urban Campus coliving buildings is the young professional between 25 and 45 years old (the average age of our residents is 33 years old). They are mainly international (although the percentage of nationals has increased since the pandemic), with 40% of our tenants being nationals and 60% foreigners.

Approximately 95% of our tenants say they would recommend this residential option. In turn, 86% of our residents have told us that they feel happier and less lonely than before having lived in the coliving.

6 buildings in total, three in operation and three in progress. Will you continue to invest in new assets in 2023? 

Without a doubt. Our goal is to have more than 30 buildings in the next few years. In Spain, we have our sights set on Madrid, Valencia, Barcelona, and Malaga, as well as other smaller cities. Internationally, we want to expand into France and Portugal. In the coming years, we will have openings for both coliving and multifamily or build-to-rent projects.

With the new building in Valencia, Urban Campus opens up the build-to-rent market in Spain. Do you think you will follow this line?

The Valencia coliving is a new building that will be destined for coliving, which is part of the build-to-rent market, in its most alternative sector. However, our first entry into the traditional build-to-rent or multifamily segment was a building in the French city of Saint Louis. Together with Nexity and Swiss Life Asset Managers, we opened a new line of business for the management of build-to-rent buildings. So, yes, we are also committed to this rental model in which we will continue to make progress, both in Spain and abroad.

So far, five in Madrid and one in Valencia… What is Urban Campus looking for in the areas where it is developing its business model? What other Spanish cities would be on your radar?

Urban Campus seeks to offer a medium-term residential solution for those who want to live in rented accommodation in central (or emerging) areas of large cities that are well connected. In addition to a good location, they are looking to belong to a community of people with similar interests with whom they can participate in events and activities. Many of them want independence and to live in their private space, but they perceive the option of sharing common areas as a huge added value, this then allows them to create links and meet people from other environments or cultures, let’s not forget that the human being is a social being and as such seeks the generation of social relationships.

Your company demystifies that coliving is only an option for the short term… What is the average rent you manage in your colivings?

Our average stay is 12 months, and more than 47% extend it. We have tenants who have been residing in our spaces for more than 3 years, since our opening, so we expect the average stay to continue to grow.

In Urban Campus we offer rental agreements from 700 € to 1700 € approximately, depending on the area in which the building is located and the type of private space, for example, in the Malasaña coliving in Madrid the average price is 1.300 €/month, and in Chamberí it is around 850 €/month. In addition, we offer an all-inclusive service, which includes expenses and events, but also various additional services such as cleaning, English classes or sports activities.

In addition to coliving, one of the Urban Campus properties is for coworking. Will the firm continue to promote this line of business in Spain or would you prefer to continue developing the coliving area?

The core of our business is coliving, meaning at the moment we will be putting more weight on developing this type of project. However, the interesting thing is that both products have very similar targets, so we study each project individually and decide the use that best suits each asset.

What are Urban Campus’ objectives for the coming years?

We plan to open 30 residential spaces in the next 5 years, 10 of them in Spain (Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Malaga, Alicante, Seville, Murcia, Palma de Mallorca, Bilbao, etc.) and 20 in the main European cities. These openings will be carried out through the refurbishment of buildings, as well as through the development of new construction projects, depending on the availability of land in each city and the location we choose for each of them.

Do you have plans for international expansion, and what dates and countries are planned?

We have already planned different coliving spaces in other countries such as France for the end of this year. At the moment we can not advance more information, but rest assured that we will continue to open many more buildings under the Urban Campus brand.

Are you wondering how to apply to Urban Campus Coliving? This step-by-step guide will help you understand what is to come once you are interested in one of our Coliving spaces!

It is important to note that at Urban Campus we have an application process to ensure that those who become part of our community complement the atmosphere already created with our current Colivers. The goal is to have kind, like-minded professionals in a thriving environment. We know that as human beings, we need a sense of belonging, and that sense of belonging is what connects us to the relationships we develop throughout our life. 

Step 1- You discovered us!

Whether it be through social media, word of mouth, or your family pushing you to finally move out of your home – here you are searching for your future place. 

Step 2 – Exploring our web 

We currently have four Coliving locations in Madrid to choose from:

Mellado – Chamberi area
Malasaña – Malasaña area
Atocha – Delicias area – Opening September 2022!
Maravillas – Cuatro Caminos area – Opening October 2022!

Within each Coliving you will find different units that you may choose, all toothbrush ready.

Step 3 – Application 

Once you discover which Coliving (Maravillas, Atocha, Malasaña, or Mellado) and which unit you would like (room, studio, or apartment) we ask that you fill out the application form which takes approximately 2 minutes to complete. You can apply to as many units that interest you. 

The form requests the following:

• Your Age – To ensure that those staying with us have plenty in common, residents must be 25 or older.
• Work Situation – We do not accept students.
  Why no students you may ask? We believe when you are studying you are at a different stage of your life and the goal of Urban Campus is to create a community of young working professionals.
• Potential Move-in Date – Our team at UC manages everything within 45 days including a 15-day margin because vacancies are confirmed one month before your desired entry date.

Step 4 – Virtual Tours

As soon as you fill out the application you will receive an email that will send you a virtual tour of the different units you applied to (the ones that you requested in Step 3)

If you cannot find the email in your inbox, please check your spam! 

What will you find within the virtual tours? 

• Pricing details, if you stay six months or longer
• Unit descriptions (private or shared bathroom/kitchen, desk and chair, bed size, etc.)
• Photos or videos of the common areas
• You must then schedule a call with our sales team to continue with your application process
  

Step 5 – Scheduled call with our Sales Team 

The purpose of this call is to tell you more about our community, for our team to get to know you more, you will be asked questions regarding your professional profile, your hobbies, where you are from, and more. Our sales team will use a detailed presentation to answer any potential doubts and explain the necessary documents and steps to complete the booking process.

Lorena, Lucas, or Pepe (our wonderful sales team) will then take this opportunity with you to talk about…

1. Our Community

• The events that take place
• The perks we offer 
• The clubs you may like to join once you become a member
• How the community is composed (how many foreigners, nationals, and the average age)

2. Prices of Living

• Depending on the characteristics of the unit, the margin you see in the virtual tour is broken down
• Everything is included – electricity, gas, water, wifi, and where there is a TV, there is Netflix
• One time per month cleaning service of your private unit (meaning your bedroom, studio, or apartment)
• One time per week cleaning service of the common areas within your Coliving
  

3. Extra Services 

• Bed linen and towels can be provided to you on a weekly basis if you wish 
• Extra cleaning service (on a weekly or bimonthly basis)
• Weekly Spanish classes for both basic and intermediate levels are available 
• Weekly outdoor fitness classes in Parque Oeste with a professional fitness instructor 

*You aren’t sure if you want these extra services now? Don’t worry, you can subscribe and cancel any time in the member area. 

4. Conditions Explained 

• All contracts are signed for a year
• The minimum stay is 3 months (after this you can cancel the contract at any time)
• You must give a 30-day notice when you would like to move out

5. Security Deposit 

• Depending on which coliving you select and which unit you stay in the security deposit would be “x” amount
• If all goes well and you do not break anything you will receive a 100% refund
  

6. Visit Policy 

• Within the common areas of the building, you can invite people as many times as you would like
• If you would like to invite someone to stay the night with you, it can only be one person at a time and for a maximum of 7 nights throughout the entire month.
  Why is this rule applied? You will most likely be in a shared flat and we believe it is important to respect your roommates living quarters as they should respect yours
  

7. Documentation Needed

• An ID which can be your Passport or DNI
• Proof of address can be any kind of document that has your name and an address on it (this can be from any country)
• Proof of funds which can be the last three pay slips from work, your annual tax declaration, or your official work contract as long as it is not older than one year. If you cannot provide any of these, you may provide these documents from your guarantor (please note that we do not accept bank statements)

After the call, you will not have to submit anything. Once there are vacancies (30-45 days prior) our team will get in touch with you to confirm the different units that are available.

Step 6 – We Have a Space for You!

Once there is a unit available, we will send you an offer with all the information you need; the prices, characteristics of the room, SQM, type of view, and if the bathroom is ensuite, including pictures and videos. In the same email, you will be asked if you are interested in booking this unit, once you have confirmed you are interested in the unit (by replying directly to this email) our team will prepare the booking link and send it off! 

Step 7 – Booking Link 

When you click the booking link you are asked to complete the following:

• Create a user on our Urban Campus member area 
• Upload all the documents mentioned above (ID, proof of address, proof of funds)

The documents will then need to be validated by the team, if everything is uploaded correctly you will receive an email to sign the contract. 

Once the contract is signed, you will receive another email requesting to settle the security deposit. Shortly after this step, you will need to provide the method of payment for your rent for the following months. The rent is discounted automatically on the 5th day of every month (similar to a Spotify subscription).

After having completed this, our sales team will receive the notification that you have booked!

Step 8 – One Week Before your Big Move

You will receive a welcome email for your onboarding, this will show you how to add more details to your already created user (picture, hobbies, description etc) that way people know who you are in the community. 

Our property manager will provide you with details on how to move in your new home as this process is done autonomously. 

We are excited for you and hope that things feel easier now. If by any chance you believe we are missing something, we are always here to help – feel free to write to us!

RedFin gathered 28 questions to ask your potential roommate before moving in and we would like to share our top three favourite that best relates to Coliving.

Your home is your safe place and who you share it with will have an impact on your day-to-day. It is important to get to know who you are going to be interacting in this space and maybe even go beyond being just roommates but creating a genuine friendship. 

1) How do you feel about sharing?

Some people simply like to keep their belongings to themselves. Be sure you’re on the same page when it comes to sharing anything, from clothes to groceries. Also, think about shared spaces. How do you designate drawers in the bathroom or space in the fridge? Or, would you both be okay making those spaces more communal?

2) What’s your confrontation style?

Disagreements happen and will likely occur when sharing a space with someone. Establish an effective way to resolve conflict when it arises and before a situation escalates.

CoHousing Houston, an urban village inside in East End, Texas, USA suggests asking yourself, “Am I willing to trade a little bit of convenience for a whole lot of connection?” They go on to say, “Sharing space with people means you might not get to have things exactly your way all the time, but it also means that you won’t suffer from isolation or loneliness.”

3) What do you like to do after work? On the weekends?

The answer to this question can tell you whether this person is generally a homebody or likes to spend their time away from home. If you enjoy hosting get-togethers or other in-home activities such as cooking or meditation, try to work out a schedule so your and your roommate’s events don’t coincide with one another. Or maybe you discover you have common interests and can establish a connection around that.

“If you have decided to live in a shared space, this question can be critical,” states Urban Campus, a Coliving Community. “Moving to a new city alone is a big step, and you should be proud of yourself for getting this far, but you don’t have to do the rest alone. Creating genuine experiences, visiting new places, and surrounding yourself with like-minded people are what we believe to be important aspects of your life, so even if you move here alone, you will be a part of something bigger.”

So now we ask you, what question do you wish you would have asked an old roommate before having made the big move? Or is there a question that you already have in mind for your future mates? Take a look at the other 25 potential questions author, Julia Weaver wrote about!

About Nyumba Urban Living
Nyumba, an asset managing start-up began in 2016 in Spain. 

The Challenge
With 8 employees, 3 of them being expats, and €100M projects on the rise, founding partner, José De Pedro found himself in Paris where he initially lived, Madrid where the business was booming, and with a team that was between countries. 

The company wanted to find a housing solution for their international employees in Spain that was comfortable and made them feel at home.

For a small company one that does not have a big image in the industry, Nyumba felt that they needed to provide at least two of the following things: paying attractive salaries and/or offering something different with added value – providing distinct residential options to a team willing to relocate would set them apart from competitors.

 

The Solution
When José mentioned what they were looking to achieve, we stepped in and offered a coliving solution for two of Nyumba’s expat employees in Malasaña.

“The atmosphere at Urban Campus really stood out to us and the great thing was that everything was easy with them. Their buildings are beautiful and on top of that, in pristine locations. They also organised events every week within the community, which kept my team engaged and never alone, so even if I had to be in Paris, I knew my team was taken care of in this new city, and that as an employer gave me peace of mind.”

With Coliving, we offer a toothbrush-ready space meaning the start-up did not have to worry about furniture, unexpected costs, expensive short stays, or being stuck in a contract due to our flexible 30-day notice period. 

José knew it would be difficult to create this atmosphere anywhere else, “its not always about the location necessarily, but it’s about the people. We have now had a direct link with the Urban Campus Community for years now”.

Nyumba as a company is now recognised for having enhanced their employer branding while retaining their diverse talent because they found a solution to their residential needs. Their employees feel more at home, and we could not be happier. 

Last week, I was invited to a French podcast titled “Being useful” by SudRadio. Which allowed me to showcase why Coliving makes sense in today’s society.

1 – Share resources to create collective value

Throughout the pandemic, 98% of my time was confined to my home. Which allowed me to truly reflect on the criteria I wanted for my future apartment:

• A comfortable workspace for remote working rather than settling with the coffee table in the living room
• An outdoor space to get fresh air, and feel like an urban farmer while planting cherry tomatoes
• A gym to do jumping jacks without kicking every object in the room
• A super equipped kitchen to simmer good food

The problem is, if I wanted this in Paris, a location known for being one of the most popular and demanding in the world,  I would need to be a millionaire.

The reality is that I don’t need my own fitness center, movie theater, or rooftop terrace just for myself. By sharing them with my neighbors, I could access these spaces and so could others.

Coliving is a way to rethink housing and our relationship with private and collective space. It’s ultimately the sharing economy applied to residential living. 

With designed spaces that are recognized for being both beautiful and smart, the coliving philosophy is not about density at all cost. Each sqm of private spaces are optimised to increase the usage value for tenants and each sqm saved is added to create these exceptional common spaces that you would not be able to get alone.

When you see sqm differently and keep in mind human interaction, you can make the most of spaces that are typically lost in buildings: basements, twisted ground floors, rooms with no windows, attics. We turn them into a cinema room, laundry, gym etc.

This allows us to distribute the value of high-quality spaces differently: instead of creating one apartment with a 150 sqm rooftop for one tenant, we turn it into a common area available for all tenants in the building to enjoy.

2 – Make the rental experience enjoyable

We know the renting process in a large city is a nightmare. Filling out applications and providing hundreds of supporting documents to convince one of the many landlords why they need to accept you as a tenant is exhausting. Asking your parents to be your guarantor when you are 30 years old can be difficult and on top of that, competing with dozens of other applicants to visit a poor-quality studio is not the greatest situation. 

The number one reason individuals choose coliving is because it is convenient. Booking with us is paperless and easy, done in 7 minutes with our own platform that we developed to ensure our processes are smooth. From booking online to making safe payments, hiring extra in-house services, subscribing to community events, and even connecting with current and future tenants. With this, we provide transparency allowing our colivers to have full control over their experience.

3 – Fight loneliness

+50% of the households in Paris, along with other large European cities, are composed of single people or couples without kids. Technology has a promise to keep us connected, but the consequences of being on the screens cause people to miss out on what is happening in front of them, hence this increased feeling of loneliness. So much so, that both the United Kingdom and Japan have created Ministries of Loneliness to fight this health issue. 

We crave connection, yet most of us living in large cities don’t even know our next-door neighbor. 

Re-learning to live together is possible. Coliving is a housing solution that is changing the game. Our buildings are designed to maximize positive interactions and foster human connections while limiting classic cohousing issues (noise, cleanliness…).

Being part of a community can have a huge impact in your life. You have the chance to expand your social network, and allow yourself to experience new opportunities. In our coliving spaces alone, we have had the pleasure of seeing couples meet, people changing careers, others creating entrepreneurial projects together and genuine friendships being created. As a result, 95% of our residents feel happier and 85% feel less lonely since living at Urban Campus. We are chosen because of the convenience, but people extend because of the human aspect our business model believes in. 

We constantly work to improve our tenants’ satisfaction. We listen to them, we look for new services and partnerships. We create an environment so our tenants are encouraged to be a part of our community with values of mutual aid, personal and professional growth, aspects that we believe to be critical in ones everyday life. 

“If you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, go together”. African Proverb. 

Urban Campus expands into Tetuán, the Maravillas Coliving building will have 31 studios and will be located just a ten-minute walk from the Azca financial center. This will be the second investment in coliving for Batipart in Spain, which will operate Urban Campus

Madrid, June 15th, 2022.- Urban Campus will operate its fifth coliving building in Madrid, and the second for Batipart. The first operator of complete coliving buildings in Spain thus establishes itself in Madrid, increasing its offer in the capital. The new project, Urban Campus Maravillas is located in the district of Tetuán, in the Cuatro Caminos neighborhood and just a 10-minute walk from the financial center of Azca, the most avant-garde in the capital.

The family investment group, Batipart, once again trusts Urban Campus as the operator of its next coliving, after the agreement for the company’s first new-build coliving in Valencia, which is already under construction and will receive its first tenants in 2023.

For Urban Campus, Tetuán is one of the most attractive districts. It offers many opportunities due to its proximity to Azca, the Four Towers, and the Paseo de la Castellana.

Urban Campus Maravillas, which has an elegant facade, will have an area of ​​around 1,200 square meters in which there will be room for 31 studios, almost all with a private balcony, 11 one-bedroom apartments, and 20 in a two-bedroom cluster format with a kitchen and large shared lounge. The building will have different common areas like a gym, a coworking, a community kitchen, a meeting or events area, and an outdoor area with a corrala-style patio, common in old buildings in the city, evoquing the most traditional Madrilian character. Urban Campus expects to welcome the first tenants in October 2022.

For Casilda Mulliez, Head of Business Development for Spain at Urban Campus, “our fifth coliving in Madrid strengthens our presence in the capital. We are firm defenders of booming areas, having already begun in Valencia, and once again confirming our position in Madrid with our expansion into Tetuán.”

For Martin Fauchille, Director of Acquisitions Spain and Portugal “After the success of our alliance with Urban Campus, we want to continue with our expansion in the main cities of Spain and Portugal, where we see a growing demand from young professionals for this type of offer.”

Get to know Atocha our new Coliving in Madrid!

So, you’ve just arrived in Madrid.

(Hi there! It’s great to see you!)

All it takes is a left turn out of Atocha train station, and a right at Calle del Áncora, then voilà! You’re here, at our brand new Coliving space.

Super close to the station, and right in the heart of Madrid, Atocha is a big up-and-coming area, so it’s a great place to be right now.

It’s beautiful, full of tree-lined streets, and there’s plenty going on.

Atocha restaurants and bars

What better way to meet – and get to know – your fellow Colivers than over a beer and good food?

Luckily, Calle del Áncora is full of bars, cafés and restaurants with great food and drinks.

Sésamo, for example. It’s a wonderful coffeehouse with fresh salads and tasty smoothies. They even have burgers, if you fancy treating yourself a little.

If it’s a bit later in the evening, why not try La Tarara? With delicious snacks and tapas, this charming tavern has around thirty different vermouths you can taste. Yes, thirty!

Prefer cocktails? Head to Havana-inspired Coppelia Madrid instead. They have unbeatable Cuban sandwiches and sometimes live music as well.

Or, if you’re more into craft beer and tacos, Spoiler Bar is the place to be. They even have an Escape Room – what a great icebreaker for you and your new fellow Colivers!

Attractions near Atocha

So, you’re all settled into your room, studio or apartment, and it’s time to take a look around the city.

It’s probably best to start at the attractions.

We’re lucky enough to have one of the world’s biggest modern art museums right on our doorstep – Reina Sofía.

Specializing in 20th-century pieces, it mainly shows Spanish art, with incredible collections by Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dalí and Joan Miró.

They often have temporary exhibitions as well, so make sure you check out their website to see what’s showing at the moment.

You could spend hours taking everything in, but make sure you leave enough time to visit Museo del Prado too.

It only takes 20 minutes to walk there from Urban Campus, Atocha, and it’s well worth it – it’s one of the world’s most prestigious art museums, with a mind-blowing collection of European art.

With paintings, sculptures, prints, and drawings, there are around 1,300 pieces on display at once, including Velázquez’s masterpiece ‘Las Meninas’.

Sightseeing near Atocha

While you’re visiting Museo del Prado, make sure you take a stroll down Paseo del Prado as well – Europe’s first tree-lined urban promenade.

Dating back to the 16th century, it was created as a space where people could enjoy nature inside the city. The trees are now hundreds of years old!

This boulevard is closely linked to El Retiro Park nowadays – they share the title ‘Landscape of Light’, and the area was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site back in 2021.

The park is a beautiful space in itself. It’s huge, filled with statues, monuments and fountains – there’s a Forest of Remembrance too, for the victims of the 2004 terror attacks in Madrid.

If you enjoy a day out in the open, you’ll love wandering through its landscaped gardens and renting a boat to paddle on the ponds.

Atocha train station

Of course, we couldn’t talk about Atocha without mentioning the train station.

It’s just around the corner from Urban Campus, Atocha – it only takes 15 minutes to walk there – and it’ll make all the difference to your stay.

With hundreds of thousands of passengers using it every single day, there’s a reason they call it ‘a gateway to the rest of Europe’!

Just think – there are countless day trips you could go on and so many weekend getaways.

You’ll never have a dull moment with your fellow Colivers in Atocha.

 

Pic sources:

• Sésamo 
• Coppelia
• Nice Local
• Spoiler Bar
• Parque viajes
• Saishoart
• Plataforma Arquitectura
• Esmadrid.com

The pandemic has changed a lot of things about how young people go about their lives –– from how they stay connected to friends and family, to how they use digital tools in day-to-day work. And while the pandemic isn’t over yet, we are beginning to see how some of these changes are leading to larger and perhaps more permanent adjustments in lifestyle. So in this post, we want to look specifically at some emerging ways of life that have come about as a result of the pandemic.

Digital Nomadism

The need for remote work led a lot of people to discover that they could do their jobs from any location in the world. As a result, the number of people who identify themselves as digital nomads has increased significantly. And while “Digital Nomads” author Robert Litchfield has pointed out that this trend actually started before the pandemic, it’s undeniable that Covid-related conditions sped it up. We will likely see even more employees (as well as freelance workers) taking up “digital nomad” lifestyles moving forward, even as the pandemic subsides.

 

Coliving

Rising prices in the housing markets have pushed a lot of young people to look for alternative solutions. This has helped give rise to coliving, which goes hand-in-hand with the digital nomadism trend to some extent. Having emerged in Silicon Valley (where it has long been possible for people with similar professional ambitions and backgrounds to link up in shared housing), the coliving trend is now evolving into co-working spaces with housing components. This is not only providing a new working and living model for young professionals in general, but also making it easier for them to get situated in cities like Paris or Madrid, which are beautiful and fascinating, but also rather expensive to rent or buy property in. And while coliving is not necessarily cheaper than other alternatives, it provides an all-inclusive blend of living and professional benefits that is invaluable to professionals, entrepreneurs, and freelancers alike. Space in a coliving environment is easy to book (thanks to flexible leasing arrangements) and provides access to energetic communities of like-minded professionals. It is for many an ideal environment in which to live and work independently.

 

Remote & Mobile Housing

Aside from the trend toward coliving, digital nomadism is also leading many independent workers to consider remote and/or mobile housing. Regarding remote trends, the pandemic inspired many move out of cities and toward suburbs and the countryside. A report at The Local cited 59% of Île-de-France inhabitants wishing to live somewhere less stressful following lockdowns, and the same percentage mentioned a desire to be closer to nature. Similar sentiments have been echoed across much of the world.

While many are leaving the cities are buying up suburban or countryside homes, this trend of migration has also coincided with a rise in mobile home-usage. Various reports have indicated that the RV business is thriving as people look for more flexible, untethered living arrangements (though the quality of RV camps is inconsistent, and some are more conducive to work than others).

Generous Living

While the previous two points concern working and living situations, there are also changes in how people conduct themselves. For one thing, young people have also become increasingly aware of how a large part of the population has to deal with unfair working conditions, as well as limited access to basic needs like education and healthcare; income inequality has also become more visible. However, Fareed Zakaria’s book “Ten Lessons For A Post-Pandemic World” suggests that the pandemic has also given us opportunities to change things like these for the better, and produce a more equal, empathetic society. And it’s in this vein that we’ve seen people adopting more generous lifestyles: Young people have driven movements for social change throughout the pandemic, and CNBC reported even early in the pandemic that 3 in 4 millennials had donated money. These trends suggest a move toward more equality-driven living.

In-Person Living

While technology made it possible for people to stay connected during lockdowns, it also helped to demonstrate the limitations of digital-only social interactions. Sources from the hit streaming special “Inside” by Bo Burnham to Buzzfeed News articles quoting mental health experts have helped to highlight young people’s growing discomfort with fully digital social lives. And as a result, we’re seeing young people emerging from the pandemic pointedly prioritizing in-person social activity –– somewhat ironic in what is supposed to be the age of the metaverse. This is not to say that young people are surrendering social media or digital tools by any means. But they are making a point of recognizing and valuing human-to-human connection.

As this trend solidifies, it is also important to mention that government entities and urban planners have a responsibility to accommodate it. One of the few heartwarming aspects of the pandemic at its worst was that we did see major cities around the western world reorganizing and redistributing space –– providing more biking paths, wider walking avenues, and large spaces for safe outdoor dining. And in some cases, there have been indications that these changes will be permanent, or at least inspire long-term changes; for instance, a write-up at Forbes details plans for some 650 kilometres of cycling space to be built into Paris, in part at the expense of sidewalk parking spaces. This is only one example, but it speaks to how the growing preference for “in-person living” needs to be supported by the facilitation of such a lifestyle.

It’s an understatement to say that the pandemic brought about unprecedented change for people of all ages. But it’s also inspired younger generations to develop their own innovative solutions to different issues. As a result, many people have more flexible ideas regarding where to reside, how to work, and how to interact with and treat other people.

Exclusive for urbancampus.com by Aspen Emery

 

Urban Campus Boosts its growth in Spain with this new residence which means the company will now manage 3 buildings for the Socimi ELIX Vintage Residencial.

This new project will be located in Áncora street in Madrid and will open officially in September 2022.

The first full building coliving operator, Urban Campus, boosts its national expansion with the opening of its fourth coliving in Madrid: Urban Campus Atocha. 

This is the third asset that the company operates with Socimi ELIX Vintage Residencial. After a positive experience with the two previous projects (Malasaña Madrid Coliving and Mellado Madrid Coliving).

Both companies share a transformative vision of the residential market, which is adapting to new living models, where social connections are promoted and where new work and leisure habits have evolved the way in which projects are developed to adapt to new residential needs. Additionally, Urban Campus is one of the only operators that manage its buildings under strict ESG criteria, with an efficient operation thanks to its transparent data registration system for both investor and tenant, increasing the efficiency of its assets, thanks to efficient management, marketing & sales efforts.  

For Maxime Armand, COO and co-founder of Urban Campus, “With this new opening we are strengthening our commitment to Spain. Furthermore, our track record in residential assets management, adapting them to the concept of coliving, is an added value for companies such as ELIX Vintage Residencial, with whom we have great synergies”.       

Urban Campus Atocha will have a total surface area of over 2,800 m2, the largest coliving that the company has operated so far, with other larger buildings planned in the short term. It will have 57 studios and the largest communal areas ever designed for a coliving. It will be located at Calle Áncora 20, in the dynamic neighbourhood of Delicias, very close to Atocha station. 

The project will complete its refurbishment works in the last quarter of the current year and its residential options will be: 22 studios for two tenants with shared living room and kitchen and 35 individual studios with their own living room and kitchen.

About Urban Campus

Founded in 2016, Urban Campus is the first operator of complete coliving buildings. With its innovative model, it is redefining the rules of residential housing in major European cities by offering coliving & coworking spaces adapted to new lifestyles. With a DNA of its own, based on satisfying the new residential needs of young professionals in major cities, it offers quality buildings, fosters community and provides a new residential experience overall. 

About ELIX Vintage Residencial 

Elix Vintage Residencial SOCIMI, S.A. is a real estate investment vehicle specialising in the acquisition and refurbishment of residential properties in central areas of Madrid and Barcelona. Elix VRS currently has 30 buildings in different development stages. This patrimony is focused on covering the different residential rental needs, ranging from traditional housing to medium and short term housing, including corporate and coliving.

 

For further information:

Marta Torres Vilas
+34 636 484 866
marta.torresvilas@urbancampus.com

 

Ana, our Head of Operations Iberia, was interviewed in EjePrime.

In this interview, she talks about Urban Campus and our plan to end the year with more than 250 units in Spain.
She also explains our evolution in the last years, occupancy rates, and our expansion plans in Spain and Europe.

Click here to read the full interview.