Costco Partners With Thrive Living To Offer Affordable Housing in Los Angeles

Costco is expanding its offerings in a new and exciting way, partnering with Thrive Living to offer affordable housing in Los Angeles.

According to the Wall Street Journal, a real estate developer in Los Angeles is testing an inexpensive housing model that involves stacking apartments on top of a Costco. In the South Los Angeles area of Baldwin Village, Thrive Living intends to start building an 800-unit affordable housing complex with the megastore on the first level in early 2025. The project would include 184 flats for low-income households and a fitness facility and pool on the rooftop.

The site would be the first Costco-built residential complex in the United States. Ben Shaoul, the founder of Thrive, says the developer can rely less on government subsidies for affordable housing thanks to the rent that Costco pays Thrive.

“I want to build thousands and thousands of apartments every year, not hundreds,” he said to the outlet.

According to Shaoul, Costco originally contacted Thrive in the spring of 2022 about leasing the Baldwin Village space. On the site where an abandoned commercial building now stands, Shaoul originally intended to build a completely residential development. However, he noted that he “welcomed the proposal” from a company he described as “a darling of retail.”

Shaoul projects that the development’s construction will cost approximately $425 million. His business is currently purchasing the land using a loan and its own funds. He is trying to obtain additional loans to finance construction.

Costco Faces MAGA Boycott

Meanwhile, the popular big-box retailer is facing a boycott from MAGA fanatics after it announced that its DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) policy would not be abandoned. Extremist supporters of the incoming president, who have advocated for businesses to abandon their DEI policies in recent months, are incensed by this.

Although workplace DEI programs have grown in popularity over the past 10 years, they have recently come under increased legal and cultural scrutiny. Following boycotts organized by conservative consumers, several companies, including Walmart, Tractor Supply, Ford, and Lowe’s, have halted their DEI initiatives.

The MAGA movement responded adversely when the Costco board of directors rejected efforts to end its DEI program, which shareholders described as “illegal discrimination.”

But despite the blathering, Costco remains unfazed. “Our Board has considered this proposal and believes that our commitment to an enterprise rooted in respect and inclusion is appropriate and necessary,” the company said in a statement. “Our success at Costco Wholesale has been built on service to our critical stakeholders: employees, members and suppliers. Our efforts around diversity, equity and inclusion follow our code of ethics.”