It's the first mixed-use residential project in the US with a Costco on the ground floor.
A lucky bunch of Californians will soon live a mere elevator ride away from the emporium where they can snag a $1.50 hot dog-soda combo and a 12-pack of ketchup in one run.
Construction began last week on South LA's first Costco, and in an unusual twist, it'll come with a bulk order of apartments towering overhead.
The residential-retail symbiosis—in which the flats complement the 185,000-square-foot warehouse store—is also the first building project to take advantage of a recent state law meant to expand California's notoriously deficient housing supply.
Costco bypassed some of the approval rules for commercial development by partnering with the housing developer Thrive Living, which will build apartments on top of the warehouse store.
The condo will have 800 units, 23% of which will be designated for low-income households, as well as a rooftop pool, basketball court, and community gardens.
The Costco location will have a pharmacy and optics store and is expected to bring 400 jobs to the neighborhood—an area the leader of one local nonprofit called a food desert.
If the project proves to be a commercial success, it could pave the way for other developers to collaborate with retailers in a mutually beneficial arrangement. The discount grocer Aldi is already following a similar path to Costco, with housing being developed on the same site as new stores in several states.
📸 : Thrive Living