Multifamily Living Trends

California Buildings News • Q3 2020

Pandemic to Reshape Multifamily Living in California Flight from Cities, Work from Home & Fear of Others Drive Change

The pandemic is radically transforming multifamily living design... and forcing developers to rethink building apartments and condos in big cities. De-densification of cities is being driven by people's generalized fear urban centers, their declining use of mass transit as well as concerns about riding elevators up soaring residential and office towers.

Once magnets for knowledge workers and those that support them, urban downtowns like in San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego are experiencing a migratory outflow of people. City budgets are hard hit by massive costs of fighting the virus and huge revenue shortfalls from business interruption. The urban fiscal crisis will likely drive out more people when attempts are made to force already burdened companies and affluent citizens to bear the costs with higher taxes and fees.

Downtowns will be much less appealing when they can no longer feature many of the urban attractions supported by public revenues that the booming private sector once funded. Trendy restaurants are closing, along with clubs and formerly packed sports and entertainment venues. The numerous workers that were once drawn to these downtown magnets are now free to work from anywhere. Consequently, populations are spreading out to the suburbs and smaller cities throughout California and neighboring states.

Car sales, already rising, are another harbinger of the looming flight to the suburbs and towns beyond metropolises. Moving companies are recording the outflow. And since the economic devastation will likely affect consumers’ ability to buy homes, apartments and condos—always popular in California—will be the homes of choice for many.

California Buildings News • Q3 2020

More than 3 million people in Los Angeles County commuters. In recent decades, urban planners concerned live in an apartment. So do more than 876,000 in the about air pollution have been pushing developers to build San Francisco metro area and another 720,000 in greater near transit stations. San Diego. Overall, 6.7 million Californians are apartment MBH Architects’ Rick Christiani says, “COVID-19 has dwellers. And with a very high percentage of people forgoaccentuated the need for affordable housing as jobs are lost ing home buying during the Pandemic Era, multifamily and evictions increase. Those living in overcrowded houseliving will become more important than ever before. holds are more likely to fall ill, and low-income essential Incomes are down and many people are wary of making workers are unable to isolate when exposed. The pandemic more changes in their already perilous lives. has also demonstrated the importance of quality housing Pandemic Causes Multifamily Redesign as people spend more time in their homes. Desired features

Thanks to the pandemic, apartment living will be have become health requirements, including natural light, very different from what had been the recent trend toward ventilation, outdoor access, and decentralized HVAC which small personal does not re-circuunits and larger late air. As homes community spaces, become classrooms say numerous indusand offices, Internet try sources. That access and productrend will give way tive spaces have to bigger individual become necessities.” units where people For example, “the can live, work and Fetters & Celestina recreate within their Apartments exemown enclosures that plify high density might also include housing that is more personal bal100% affordable conies and terraces. and provides safe, They will certainly livable homes. The not risk spending development houses much time in gyms, families and seniors swimming pools, affordably without hot tubs, saunas, steam rooms and other common The Celestina Garden Apartments in Sonoma County house families and seniors without overcrowding. Trails and gardens are nearby. Photo courtesy of MBH Architects. the overcrowding that leads to infection. The project meets amenity areas where once-beloved neighbors are now residents’ needs without sacrificing their health with decenactually seen as a threat. tralized mini-splits for heating and cooling, on-site class

Tall city center towers that rely on elevators will likely rooms and computer access, and nearby trails and gardens,” lose appeal as low-rise complexes in the suburbs and smaller he concludes. towns gain in popularity. Residents will seek more distance Economic Downturn Boosts Multifamily Living from each other, as well, with separate entrances close to “For those who wanted to take the leap from renting to parking lots. Since many people are permitted to work buying this year, their hopeful plans are quickly changing. from their homes, their interior design will also undergo At the start of 2020, 11% of renters said they were ready transformations to accommodate more business-like settings and planning to buy a home this year,” according to a recent situated distinct from their personal spaces. survey conducted on RENTCafe.com. Conditions were

Multifamily design for the future will likely see more looking up for Gen X renters, 15% of whom were making rooftop and courtyard common areas, where healthy fresh plans to buy a home this year, as well as for 14% of Older air can better circulate, and more elevators with safety Millennials. features such as UV-C lighting to zap airborne pathogens. However, the pandemic has obstructed the path to Developments that had been clustered around mass transit homeownership for 43% of renters ready to buy, the surwill be less desirable since more people are not only allowed vey results revealed. On top of high home prices, this is yet to work from home but are wary of close contact with other another deterrent forcing many renters to further delay or

California Buildings News • Q3 2020

Multifamily Living (Continued from page 19) give up on the most important archetype of the American Dream. The survey, which ran at the end of May 2020, asked 7,000 renters about their housing plans before and after the coronavirus hit.

Of those who decided to continue renting, the largest share had plans to downgrade to a smaller apartment, driven by Gen Z-ers and Baby Boomers. However, Millennials and Gen Xers had bolder plans, a high percentage of whom expressed a wish to upgrade to a larger apartment in 2020.

Patrick Lynch, vice president research and analytics, Middleburg Communities, says “Historically, there has been a tight relationship between household incomes and homeownership. The higher the income, the more likely a household is to own and vice versa. The economic impact of COVID will drive average incomes lower over the near future, which will likely shift some households from owners to renters, or keep them in rental housing longer than they had planned. Tougher credit standards, a limited stock of homes, and prices that have not really dropped, will also prevent

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Larger spaces are needed in apartments to accommodate work from home arrangements as well as study areas for children. Photo: Getty Images.

many would-be homeowners from buying. So we expect the overall homeownership rate to decline.

“However, we may see some residents of urban luxury apartments, many of whom have the income to buy, decide that now is the time given the low interest rates. They may purchase in the suburbs or even in a different metro area entirely if they are given the freedom to work remotely.”

Home Office Design Imperative for Many

With so many knowledge workers living in multifamily-dense metropolitan areas, it is particularly important that these people living in smaller spaces be able to carve out segments of their homes dedicated to work—as distinct from living. Designs are being suggested that give even dwellers in the smallest spaces room to work. Add to that the need for students to learn from home and every square foot in an apartment must be refocused.

“Set your units apart by adding dedicated work-at-home spaces into your floorplans. Whether it’s an unused corner, old alcove or niche, extra closet, bonus room, or open wall, you can provide your residents with a dedicated work-athome space even in the smallest unit footprint,” says Sarah Boughan at Organized Living, a national home storage and organization company.

She adds, “By taking advantage of adjustable desk solutions, you can use any open wall to add a functional workat-home space that residents can use day-to-day. Adjustable systems provide your residents the ability to move, add or adjust components over time as their needs change. No longer do residents need to be in the office to get their job done when they can utilize a small amount of space in their apartment to perform the same duties.” n