Success stories: The Citylifer awarded as Emerging Coliving Concept 2023

We celebrate the success story of The Citylifer, and the milestones they have achieved in our coworking space, most notably clinching the global Emerging Coliving Concept 2023 award.

The Citylifer is a brand-new coliving concept launched in 2023 and evolved from Citylife, a steadfast member at 42workspace since 2018. The Citylifer is delivering a brand-new housing solution. Tailored specifically to the needs of young adults and modern nomads, they provide:

📍 Apartments located in the best neighborhoods of the best cities
🤝 Thoughtfully designed buildings that foster social interaction while ensuring individual comfort and privacy
🏗️ Constructed with durable and high-quality materials and fitted with multi-functional furniture
♻️ They upcycle urban spaces to lower environmental impact and shorten lead times
🌟 A fusion of premium hospitality and residential living
💵 Designs are optimized to ensure affordability for residents and profitable investor returns

In response to increasing rental costs due to housing shortages, The Citylifer offers studios from just €690/month including housing benefits. This package is all-inclusive with service costs, fully furnished studios, access to shared facilities, utilities, Wi-Fi, housing insurance, and community events. Smart design and multi-functional furniture ensures that residents enjoy cost benefits while ensuring profitable returns for investors.

While operating in the real estate industry, The Citylifer also embraces the identify of a prop-tech startup, thanks to its integrated use of technology. Using the Salesforce platform, they’ve streamlined operational processes and established community portals for rapid scalability. The startup actively explores various technological solutions to enhance efficiency and is currently exploring AI integrations to further elevate their services.

Five key insights from 42workspace integrated into The Citylifer concept:

With striking parallels between coliving and coworking, 42workspace has been important in shaping The Citylifer’s way of thinking:

1. Community spaces are vital: Just as in coworking, community growth thrives in shared spaces. Therefore, The Citylifer organizes buildings into clusters of 15 to 25 people, each sharing an exclusive “family room” complete with a customized kitchen for communal cooking. Additionally, shared areas such as a rooftop terrace and game area facilitate interaction with members outside of their own community cluster.
2. Trailblazers are important: Ohad Gilad, founder and key member of 42workspace, underscores the power of a member taking the lead in fostering the community. By introducing members to one another, he’s nurtured a vibrant community at 42. The Citylifer has adopted this “Trailblazer” approach, designating one for every community cluster.
3. A strong community fosters friendships and acceptance: Start-up life can be isolating. When working within a strong community and knowing other like-minded people, true friendships can blossom. This bond can also foster an acceptance of individual quirks. For The Citylifer, building a strong community is foundational.
4. Memorable events create lifelong memories: At 42workspace, events, especially the famous rooftop parties, have created so many lifelong friendships and memories. It’s also easy to meet new members at those events. For The Citylifer, organizing and facilitating community events is one of the core pillars.
5. Flexibility is key: 42workspace’s flexibility is a huge benefit, making it possible to easily scale up or down within a month. This has inspired The Citylifer to offer the same flexibility where members can adjust their terms with a month’s notice.

The Rise of The Citylifer

The Citylifer’s innovative concept was recognized when they won the Emerging Coliving Concept Award at the 2023 Coliving Awards. The Emerging Coliving Concept Award is designated for projects in the development phase, showcasing the biggest potential for being the ‘new kid on the block’.

Alexia Nunes, Lead Judge for the Emerging Coliving Concept Category, remarked: “The Citylifer presents a compelling concept. Transforming ‘to be refurbished’ office buildings showcases inventive and sustainable thinking and an opportunistic approach we certainly need in current urban contexts. The commitment to fostering local communities organically, paired with exceptionally innovative architectural design, underscores the project’s ambitious nature.”

The Citylifer is thrilled to have won the award, as it is a recognition and appreciation of their ideas related community, affordability, and sustainability. Their next step is to bring these ideas to life and roll out the concept. The Citylifer has set a strong ambition, aiming to deliver 5,000 beds within the next 5 years.

Citylifer highly values partnerships and actively seeks collaboration with project developers, property owners, and real estate investors. They offer a robust co-living building concept, co-developed with Cutwork Studio. Beyond this, Citylifer acts as a tech-driven operator during the operational phase, bringing a deep understanding of community dynamics. They are currently engaging in promising discussions with leading Dutch project developers and investors, with plans to bring this concept to large-scale buildings that housing over 200 apartments per site.

Do you interested in exploring opportunities in the coliving sector and collaborating with The Citylifer? Check out the options here