Co-living startup Commontown eyes growth in Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia

CO-LIVING startup Commontown aims to double the number of beds it has in Singapore to 80 from 40 by the end of the year, and expand to Indonesia and Malaysia in the first half of 2020.

The Singapore-headquartered South Korean firm will open new spaces in the Republic over the next three months, including in Geylang, Novena, Red Hill, River Valley and Tiong Bahru.

The company opened its first Singapore space in April 2019. In September, it launched a new space at Sixth Avenue in Bukit Timah and added a new unit to its Paya Lebar space.

Commontown said it has achieved 100 per cent occupancy for its initial four co-living spaces within the first four months of launch. The locations are in Tiong Bahru and Paya Lebar, with two spaces in River Valley.

The startup was founded in Seoul in January 2017, and moved its headquarters to Singapore in 2018 as a strategic base for its global expansion plans. Its design of shared spaces uses "social architecture to influence behaviour, placing members naturally at the heart of the community where they reside without intrusion into their personal space", said Commontown.

Commontown's room rates start from S$1,600 a month for a membership fee which includes rent, utilities, WiFi, weekly cleaning of both private bedrooms and shared spaces, basic bedding and amenities, maintenance and access to community activities.