Monday 15 August 2022 08:46 PM WeWork founder Adam Neumann drums up major interest in mystery real estate ... trends now

Monday 15 August 2022 08:46 PM WeWork founder Adam Neumann drums up major interest in mystery real estate ... trends now
Monday 15 August 2022 08:46 PM WeWork founder Adam Neumann drums up major interest in mystery real estate ... trends now

Monday 15 August 2022 08:46 PM WeWork founder Adam Neumann drums up major interest in mystery real estate ... trends now

Ousted WeWork founder Adam Neumann has been drumming up some interest in his mysterious new real estate venture.

Neumann, 43, has said over the past few months he plans to create a widely-recognizable apartment brand stacked with community features to lure in the same kind of young professionals who have taken advantage of WeWork's co-working spaces.

Still, not much is known about his plans for Flow, which is set to debut in cities like Atlanta, Miami and Nashville next year.

website for the project just says: 'Live life in Flow. Coming 2023.'

But despite the vagueness of the project, Flow has already generated a lot of interest, with Andreessen Horowitz, a prominent Silicon Valley venture capital firm that was an early investor in Facebook and Airbnb, valuing it at $1 billion.

The firm has now invested about $350 million into the company — the largest individual check it has ever written in a round of funding to a corporation, the New York Times reports.

Adam Neumann, 43, has said over the past few months he plans to create a widely-recognizable apartment brand stacked with community features to lure in the same kind of young professionals who have taken advantage of WeWork's co-working spaces

Adam Neumann, 43, has said over the past few months he plans to create a widely-recognizable apartment brand stacked with community features to lure in the same kind of young professionals who have taken advantage of WeWork's co-working spaces

Still, not much is known about Flow, which is set to launch in several major cities next year

Still, not much is known about Flow, which is set to launch in several major cities next year

In explaining the investment firm's decision to invest in the company, partner Marc Andreessen hailed Neumann as the person who could fix the current issues with the housing industry.

'The demographic trends driving America's housing market are impossible to ignore: Our country is creating households faster than we're building houses,' he wrote in a statement.

'Structural shortages in available homes for sale push housing prices higher, while young people are staying single for longer and increasingly concentrating in highly desirable urban centers.' 

And as a result of COVID, Andreessen wrote, 'Many people will live in places far away from where they work, and many more will shift to a hybrid environment.

'Many people are voting with their feet and moving away from traditional economic hub cities to different cities, towns or rural areas with no diminishment of economic opportunity,' he continued.

'The residential real estate world needs to address these changing dynamics. And yet, virtually no aspect of the modern housing market is ready for these changes.

'And so, we are excited to partner with Adam Neumann and his colleagues on Flow, which is a direct strike on precisely this problem.'

He went on to note that 'for Adam, the successes and lessons are plenty,' suggesting that as a repeat-founder he will 'build on past successes by growing from lessons learned.'

'We think it is natural that for his first venture since WeWork, Adam returns to the theme of connecting people through transforming their physical spaces and building communities where people spend the most time: their homes.

'Residential real estate — the world's largest asset class — is ready for exactly this change,' Andreessen noted. 

Andreessen Horowitz has now invested $350 million into the company, and venture capitalist Marc Andreessen (pictured) is now expected to serve on its board

Andreessen Horowitz has now invested $350 million into the company, and venture capitalist Marc Andreessen (pictured) is now expected to serve on its board

'In a world where limited access to home ownership continues to be a driving force behind inequality and anxiety, giving renters a sense of security, community and genuine ownership has transformative power for our society.

'When you care for people at their home and provide them with a sense of physical and financial security, you empower them to do more and build things.

'Solving this problem is key to increasing opportunity for everyone,' Andreessen continued, adding: 'Make no mistake, this kind of mission is a heavy lift.

'Only through a seismic shift in the way industry relationships are structured, and the mechanisms through which value is delivered, can we hope to address the underlying problems of the current system and build the solution.

'Doing this requires combining community-driven, experience-centric service with the latest technology in a way that has never been done before to create a system where renters receive the benefits of owners.

'This means rethinking the entire value chain, from the way buildings are purchased and owned to the way residents interact with their buildings to the way value is distributed among stakeholders.

'And given the fragmented nature of the ecosystem today, we can only hope to accomplish any of this by bringing every aspect of the living experience together.

'We are thrilled by the scope and aspiration of this project,' Andreessen concluded.

'It is not lacking in vision or ambition, but only projects with such lofty goals have a chance at changing the world.' 

Andreessen is now expected to serve as a board member for the new venture. 

Neumann has bought up apartment complexes, like Stacks on Main in Nashville, Tennessee

Neumann has bought up apartment complexes, like Stacks on Main in Nashville, Tennessee

An entity tied to the Israeli businessman also owns Society Las Olas in Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Meanwhile, Neumann has been preparing for his second act by buying more than 3,000 apartment units in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Atlanta and Nashville.

Most of the real-estate holdings are new properties with more than 200 units and many amenities, the Wall Street Journal reported in January.

In Nashville, Tennessee, for example, Neumann bought Stacks on Main, a 268-unit property that features a saltwater pool, a dog park, a rooftop lounge and valet trash pickup.

Each apartment also comes equipped with a Nest thermostat, and is billed on Apartments.com as 'the gateway to an East Nashville lifestyle without the crazy price tag.' Rents at the apartment complex start at $1,390.

Meanwhile, in in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, an 'entity tied to Neumann' is Society Las Olas, a 639-unit apartment building that includes a co-working space, a putting green and a barber shop.

And in downtown Miami, Neumann signed a contract to buy a majority stake in the 444-unit Caoba apartment tower - valuing the property at roughly $220 million.

The property includes a swimming pool with cabana and towel service, an outdoor game lawn and a separate sunning lawn, as well as a clubroom with a fully-equipped kitchen, billiard, foosball and media area. 

Just a few blocks away, Neumann now owns the 387-unit Yard 8 Midtown apartment building, which seems to target millennials on its website with a pitch that says: 'Home is a vibe. It's something you feel in your soul. A vibration of belonging, of something new and of endless possibilities. That's life at Yard 8 Midtown.'

The apartment complex features a swimming pool and sundeck, a clubhouse with an outdoor bar and a coffee bar.

The Israeli businessman has also reportedly invested in suburban apartments, where demand has grown over the past few years as people working remotely no longer have to commute to a city.

He holds stakes in a building in Decatur, Georgia, and another in Norwalk, Connecticut, according to the Journal.

Speaking about the recent acquisitions to the Journal, DJ Mauch, a partner in Neumann's family office said:  

'Since the spring of 2020, we have been excited about multifamily apartment living in vibrant cities where a new generation of young people increasingly are

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