Some New Yorkers opting to live in super tiny micro apartments

NEW YORK (WABC) -- There's no room for a party and barely room for a double bed, but more people in New York City are opting to live in super small spaces.

Tiny living spaces require less stuff, less cleaning, and leave more time for doing things.

In a city where housing is expensive and hard to come by, it's catching on .

Single households are the fastest growing demographic in the city.

They're recent college graduates and older adults who opted not to get married.

They are New Yorkers who are no strangers to squeezing into tiny apartments.

As this group continues to grow, so does demand for spaces they can afford.

"I was pretty terrified to be honest, because it's really small when you walk in, it's under 300 square feet," said Evan Pohl, a micro apartment resident.

He lives in 295 square feet to be exact.

It's a big change from the two-bedroom he shared with his roommate.

"There was one night when I moved in and I just had my boxes and there was nothing else in here and I remember texting my old roommate saying, I think we made a huge mistake," Pohl said.

But being on a budget and this being right in his price range at $1,650 a month, the independent film producer knew he couldn't be choosy.

He had to figure out a way to make this tiny house a home.

"Being in an apartment of this size forced me to look at where I was placing meaning in my life and how I was spending my money and think how wasteful I was being," Pohl said.

There is just one closet in Pohl's apartment. Inside he keeps a vacuum, an ironing board, and a yoga mat.

Every item in every square inch means something, and sparks a fond memory.

"This chair which I had forever is solid as a rock and I found it on the street the weekend I was moving up here," Pohl said. "It's fantastic and cost me nothing."

Pohl is not alone; he lives in one of approximately three thousand micro units in New York City.

These apartments were created before New York enacted zoning rules requiring no less than 400 square feet back in 1987. That thinking is now changing.

"Three years ago, the city thought this was one of the areas of zoning they wanted to reconsider, this minimum unit size," said Tobias Oriwol, a Monadnock developer.

Enter New York's first micro apartment building, Carmel Place, the project is almost complete and already has 22 of the 55 units rented out.

"This really gives people their own space, that they can have and do with as they want at a decent price in a very desirable neighborhood in Manhattan," Oriwol said.

It's located at 335 East 27th Street in Kips Bay.

The project offers tons of common spaces with units as small as 260 square feet.

"The room is wide enough so if you have a queen size bed, there is still four or five feet of space here so you can fit a dresser or console, and still walk by," Oriwol said.

The rent for a unit this size starts at around $2,000 and goes up to close to $3,000 for the larger apartments.

Oriwol says the amenities such as a terrace, gym, and storage space speak for itself.

It's the kind of trade off Pohl says he's happy he made.

"I think it's better for your pocket book, it's better for the environment, there are a lot of things involved with it and I'd love to see more of it," Pohl said.

Carmel Place is slated to open early next year. 40 percent of the units are slated for affordable housing.