Hey, remember August 2022, when a16z gave its biggest check — for $350m — to Adam Neumann to create Flow, an apartment startup?
It was a controversial move, considering Neumann’s failure as CEO of the now-bankrupt WeWork. But Flow’s first building is here, and Business Insider’s Ben Bergman was the first journalist to see it.
OK, so what’s the deal?
Flow’s first property is the 639-unit Society Las Olas in Fort Lauderdale. It’s one of six buildings Neumann paid $1B+ for in 2021.
It sounds like Flow WeWork-ified an existing apartment building to be more social, reopening a poolside restaurant and adding fitness classes to a revamped gym, concierge staff, and an app residents can use to communicate.
Staff learn about residents’ hobbies and interests. Tenants are encouraged to network — yes, it has a coworking space — and share their businesses and passions.
Is it expensive?
Less so than you’d think. A one-bed unit at Las Olas is $2.1k, just above Fort Lauderdale’s $2k average.
But when Flow was first announced, it was indicated that residents would somehow gain some sort of equity — something apartments rarely provide.
And? Nada, for now.
So what’s the real appeal?
If you’re willing to knock on your neighbors’ doors with some cookies, you too could turn your apartment complex into a social hub — but Flow facilitates that for its tenants, many of whom seem to be millennials who can’t yet afford a home but crave community.
Whether it’ll fare better than WeWork remains to be seen, and we’ll be curious to know if that equity thing ever shapes up.
Until then… See you at pilates on the pool deck?
