Dedicated App Developers Are Now Sleeping Where They Work

WeWork, a startup with a multibillion-dollar valuation, is set to cash in on the emerging trend of co-living work spaces in the tech industry. The company is spearheading the development of what it calls “WeLive spaces” in San Francisco and Washington DC, where dedicated app development professionals can literally live where they work.

The Washington DC development features more than 250 apartments, each measuring 360 square feet, which are located above the company’s shared working spaces. Bicycle parking, gardens and a library headline the additional on-site amenities. While the San Francisco site has yet to be officially confirmed, it is believed to be based in a five-story building with a penthouse on Mission Street in the city’s Mid-Market district, which is located within walking distance of the headquarters of several major tech companies, including Uber, Twitter and Pinterest.

Mobile app developers in Chicago may also be able to rent similar spaces in the city, as Jamie Russo, president of the League of Extraordinary Working Spaces, recently unveiled mock-up plans for co-living spaces in the Windy City. Russo’s plans called for transparent partitions between living and working spaces, bridged by panes of glass that can serve as white boards during work hours and giant video screens during off hours.

With many a mobile app development company seeking to jump on the co-living space bandwagon, WeWork and similar sites may soon see an explosion in popularity. A recent BuzzFeed report indicated that WeWork’s valuation doubled from $5 billion to $10 billion between December, 2014 and July, 2015. A growing number of similar companies are making forays into the burgeoning market, which was initially regarded by many as a trend with a temporary shelf life. Now, it seems as though co-living spaces could become a mainstay of not only the tech industry, but the telecommuting world in general as more and more people eschew traditional work-life divides.