Atlanta Ranks as one of the Top U.S. Co-Working Hubs

Posted: March 30, 2026 | Categories: News

Everything Under One Roof: The Growth of Live-Work-Play Developments in the U.S.

The concept of live-work-play (LWP) is not a new one, but the popularity of vertical villages that combine residential, office and retail spaces has been gaining ground throughout the U.S. with natural variations across locations. Especially when commuting to and from work takes roughly an hour per day, according to Census data (and even more in large cities, like Washington, D.C.; Boston; and New York), the prospect of having everything you need under one roof becomes all the more appealing.

With this in mind, we focused on identifying the top U.S. cities with the most live-work-play developments completed over the past 10 years and tracked their evolution during this timeframe. We also looked into the distribution of residential, office and retail spaces within these buildings; the building ratings; and the integration level of coworking spaces in the LWP developments. 

Highlights 

• A total of 542 live-work-play developments opened between 2016 and 2025 across the U.S. with another 69 in the pipeline for 2026. 
• With 119 mixed-use developments opened in the past 10 years, New York City holds the highest LWP count in the nation, including coworking in 14% of these buildings. 
• Since 2022, the number of coworking spaces in the LWP buildings found in the top cities rose 60%, mirroring the broader national growth of flex office spaces. 
• With just seven LWP developments added in the past decade, San Francisco punches above its weight on coworking: It ranks third nationally for flex offices within live-work-play developments, having six — one for nearly every building in its portfolio. 
• Rochester, NY defies the national norm by dedicating 51% of its LWP square footage to office space (the highest share in the study), yet remains one of the few cities where coworking presence in mixed-use buildings has yet to catch on. 
• Nationally, residential areas account for 62% of the total square footage in live-work-play developments, while office and retail sections make up 27% and 11%, respectively. 

National Overview 

Throughout the U.S., the LWP movement gained ground slowly, but steadily. During the last decade, 542 LWP developments opened their doors with another 94 on track for 2026 through 2029. Notably, there’s been a clear uptick in activity in recent years with 2025 recording the highest number of mixed-use developments — 67 in total. Momentum continues in 2026 with 69 buildings slated for completion by year’s end. Among the existing stock across the country, residential space in LWP projects outpaces office and retail combined, claiming nearly two-thirds of the total footprint.

Where Work Meets Home: The Rise of Coworking in LWP Buildings 

The surge in mixed-use developments coincided with the rapid popularization of coworking spaces across the U.S.: Flex office spaces grew nearly 60% between 2023 and 2025. Now, with 8,854 locations nationwide, it’s no surprise that a few found their way into mixed-use developments. Specifically, between 2022 and 2026, the number of coworking spaces in LWP buildings rose from 35 to 56.

Clearly, the growing integration of coworking in mixed-use developments represents a natural response to current job market conditions: More than 21 million workers across the U.S. are working full-time or partially remotely — an 85% increase from 2020.  

Furthermore, companies continue rolling out return-to-office policies without having the space to accommodate all of their employees, prompting leaders to choose flexible offices over long-term traditional office leases. These factors, combined with the open-access nature of coworking spaces, help explain the rise of flex offices in live-work-play buildings. 

#4 Atlanta, GA 10-Year Evolution of LWP Buildings

With 11 LWP developments apiece, Atlanta and Philadelphia share their spot in the ranking. Unlike Philadelphia, Atlanta saw more of its mixed-use buildings open after the pandemic — six were completed since 2020 with two more on the way for 2026. 

Given Atlanta’s status as one of the top U.S. coworking hubs, it’s surprising that only three mixed-use developments have flex offices. The most likely culprit is limited office space. Offices account for just 17% of total LWP square footage, whereas residential dominates at 74% and retail at 9%. 

Methodology 

• To compile this report, we extracted data from CommercialEdge and Yardi Matrix. 

• We focused on mixed-use buildings where total space combines residential, office and retail areas. 

• To trace the evolution of live-work-play developments across the country, we tracked construction activity from 2016 through the present day, including projects in the pipeline through 2029. 

• We kept the main focus on developments built since 2016 and examined how the pandemic shaped this sector across the top U.S. cities by total LWP count. 

• We also analyzed the number of coworking spaces within LWP developments to document the evolution of flexible workspaces. 

• The ranking covers 21 cities, as opposed to 10, because several cities share the same number of LWP developments. Where a tie exists, the cities involved share a ranking position, rather than being assigned separate places. 

 

Author: Adelina Nicoara, coworkingcafe.com