A developer with an ambitious business model for attracting young urban dwellers to clubs and shared rental apartments has stopped work on projects in Houston, Tampa and Phoenix, according to news reports from those cities.

Overland, Mo.-based contractor Clayco filed a $235,000 lien in October against the developer's new project in Phoenix, which would have stood adjacent to a completed project, according to county records. In a statement, Clayco confirmed that it was the project's design-builder/contractor, and referred any further questions to the developer.

Officials of the developer, Chicago-based X Co., could not be reached for comment.

In the "co-living" business model, tenants can rent a single room in an apartment and there is a heavy emphasis on high-quality living spaces, numerous amenities and a club. The company's marketing materials describe the properties as places that foster community and are "for the constantly curious to connect."

In an interview in 2020, X Co. CEO Noah Gottlieb said the firm had been a business unit of Property Markets Group (PMG), the big real estate developer and investor, where he had been employed, and now was spun-off as an independent business entity. 

Although it isn't clear if X Cos. has financial issues, developers of all kinds have struggled to cope with higher interest rates. X Phoenix II, which broke ground in July 2022, was announced as a 26-story, mixed-use high-rise building with an estimated cost of $156 million. If completed, the building will encompass 630,000 sq ft.

A Clayco subsidiary, the Lamar Johnson Collaborative, served as the architect for all three projects.

X Co. projects in all three cities apparently stopped in the fall. The Phoenix Business Journal reported in September that X Phoenix II had suspended work that month, with the Houston Chronicle also reporting that work had halted at the developer's 33-story building in that city, with an estimated $100 million value.

Birmingham, Ala.-based Hoar Construction, the Houston project's general contractor, could not immediately be reached for comment. But the Chronicle quoted a statement released by the company saying that "due to circumstances unrelated to Hoar, work on the project has been suspended. We are working closely with X Co. to get the project restarted."

Later in October, the Tampa Bay Business Journal reported that X Co. had stopped work on a 29-story, $105-million tower in that city. That project, whose general contractor is Kast Construction, has been planned to include six levels of parking atop apartments and numerous spaces for amenities. The publication reported that the shutdown was intended to be short-term.