Co-living on a grand scale is coming to NYC.  The Collective plans to put up and manage the largest apartment building in the five boroughs.

CEO Reza Merchant tells NY1 in an exclusive interview, "For us, we see so much potential in New York."

The Collective purchased a lot in Williamsburg at the corner of Broadway and Lorimer Street at the M and J station to build 350,000 square feet of space with several hundred units.

Merchant said, "Our objective is to have as big an impact as possible, and that requires meaningful scale."

The building will be more than ten stories and will be structured like Old Oak, its 550 unit building in London where renters get small private bedrooms and bathrooms and share space like kitchens and living rooms. Because of the shared space and generally smaller rooms, rents are cheaper than conventional apartment buildings.

Merchant explains, "We’re not just providing a roof over someone’s head, like this is much deeper. This is catering to a much more fundamental need that humans have."

That need, Merchant says is the desire people have to connect with each other, one that he says The Collective provides through shared space and cultural programs.

The concept also will be at the heart of the second building The Collective is developing in the city.  It purchased an empty lot on Fulton Street near Bedford Avenue in Bedford Stuyvesant.

For much of the 20th century the lot was a theater, most recently the Slave Theater, offering productions with African American themes and a gathering place for political rallies.

The Collective plans 180,000 square feet under 10 stories there.  Merchant says he is looking to buy several other locations here in the city to develop more co-living buildings. "We see this huge issue with a lack of good quality and well-priced accommodation," he said.

Dormitory-style housing has been around for ages, but co-living represents the next step, an outgrowth of so-called "hacker houses" in Silicon Valley where developers lived and worked together.

"The general sort of theme and desire is to create environments where people can come together connect with like-minded people and ultimately lead more fulfilling lives," Merchant said.

Shovels won’t go in the ground until next year on the Williamsburg project.  A timetable for the building in Bedford-Stuyvesant is still being developed as Merchant says the company will first get feedback from the community so plans reflect local needs.

Representatives from The Collective say the company is figuring out how much of each NYC building will be considered affordable housing because it sees a need and so it can capture some of the government subsidies and incentives for affordable housing.

The company plans to grow from 550 units to 100,000 apartment units by 2025. Representatives say more than 6000 units are in the pipeline, and they plan to target NYC, Chicago and Miami in the US.  The company is also looking to solidify development in Germany.