Ollie, one of the nation’s leading micro-housing and coliving specialists, today announced the completion of an initial $15 million of financing. The company’s Series A investment was led by Aviva Investors Real Estate Capital Global Co-Investment Fund (Aviva), in partnership with the Employees Retirement System of Texas (Texas ERS). Previous funding round participants included Currency M, the venture division of real estate firm The Moinian Group, and tech entrepreneur and real estate investor Justin Mateen.
“We’re excited to invest in the growing multifamily housing segment of coliving with Ollie as a sector leader,” said Russ Bates, Head of Americas Global Indirect Real Estate, Aviva Investors, which invests with emerging real estate platforms focused on opportunistic real estate properties in the U.S. “We completed extensive research and diligence of coliving companies, ultimately finding Ollie. The Ollie team is well-suited to be a premier operator for institutional quality assets through their pairing of design, technology, and community atmospheres.”
Texas ERS Director of Real Estate, Bob Sessa, added: “Ollie’s innovative approach to the multifamily housing market is filling a need demanded by consumers and setting them apart from their competitors. They create an experience that follows the trend of the sharing economy.”
Founded by brothers Christopher and Andrew Bledsoe, Ollie employs disruptive small space design techniques to reduce entry level price-points for Class A apartment buildings in urban markets. Its all-inclusive coliving model revolutionizes the living experience with complimentary hotel-style services, state-of-the-art convertible furniture, inviting and luxurious community spaces, and unique resident engagement activities.
“Ollie is thrilled to have the backing of our investors; they offer a highly relevant combination of experience scaling both real estate and tech businesses, respectively, which we view as pivotal to our continued success,” said Ollie’s CEO, Christopher Bledsoe.
Initially focused on the New York City area, Ollie is building a national platform with upcoming projects throughout the country. The company is opening what will be the largest ground-up coliving development in the U.S. in Long Island City in the Spring of 2018. Based on bed count, this expansion puts Ollie on track to be the largest U.S. operator in the coliving category. The company also recently announced its plans to expand to Boston and Los Angeles, and is currently negotiating projects of similar scale throughout the U.S.
“The conventional housing market has lacked any real innovation for decades, despite seismic social and demographic shifts. Ollie is providing the institutional real estate community with the right tools to respond: a mix of disruptive design, technologies and operating ecosystem,” Bledsoe added.
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