Live-work condos offer dual-purpose space
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| By Marilyn Bowden
• Bankrate.com |
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With more and more people working at home at least
part of the week, it's perhaps not surprising that condo developers
around the country are beginning to promote live-work units as part
of their mix of offerings. Though the concept harks back to days
when the corner grocer lived in rooms above the store, the design
usually owes more to the artist's loft that has proliferated over
the past few decades in renovated commercial buildings found in
resurrected downtowns.
In addition to sculptors and painters, these modern,
at-home work spaces target professionals and entrepreneurs. While
they may appear to be a good solution to such urban problems as
sprawl, traffic congestion, rising fuel costs, parking and the mounting
price of leased office space, the newness of the concept can present
a number of challenges to consumers and developers.
Some
developers could find their projects delayed because building codes in most municipalities
don't yet have provisions for these residential-commercial hybrids. The type of
work the unit owner can engage in will likely come under municipal examination,
community scrutiny or both. And some critics question whether the cost of the
average live-work unit puts it beyond the economic reach of most young professionals. Demand
for live-work space grows
"Live-work condos are a niche market, but they are, in certain
circumstances, attractive to some people," says John McIlwain,
senior resident fellow for housing at the Washington, D.C.-based
Urban Land Institute. "Sometimes people use them for an office
or a store, sometimes just as extra space they can use or rent out
for income."
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| Live-work condos | |
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There's no doubt that working at home is a growing trend.
In 2000 the U.S. Census found nearly 4.2 million people age 16 or older worked
at home most days during the week, up from 3.4 million in 1990. That 23.5 percent
increase over 10 years almost doubled the growth rate of the overall work force.
The Census Bureau's most recent estimate, made from community surveys conducted
in 2003, raised the number of home-based workers to 4.5 million -- an increase
of slightly more than 7 percent in only three years. Multiple
design features
There's no single definition of what constitutes
a live-work unit. "In some cases, they simply have an
extra room that can be used as an office or a bedroom," says McIlwain. "In
some cases, there's real showroom space with an apartment upstairs. Sometimes
it's more of a loft-style apartment. So they vary."
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| New spin on an old idea |
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The Metropolitan, a condo project under construction
by Hoyt Street Properties in downtown Portland, Ore., offers prospective
buyers a range of possible floor plans to help them visualize possible
uses, says Marilyn Andersen, Hoyt Realty Group's principal broker.
Those uses range from a contemporary office with several workstations
to a small office within a home. | 
