Re: Hard to find new members (FWD)
From: Fred H Olson WB0YQM (fholsonmaroon.tc.umn.edu)
Date: Sun, 19 Mar 95 17:50 CST
Joani Blank Joaniblank [at] aol.com is the author of this message but due
to a listserv problem it was posted by the COHOUSING-L sysop (Fred).
****************  FORWARDED MESSAGE FOLLOWS *********************

I was so touched by Susan Murphy's post here. Susan, yours is NOT the only
cohousing group that is having or has had difficulty finding and keeping
members. And the reasons that you outline are  the same for cohousing
everywhere. The Field of Dreams, "Build it; they will come." aphorism is so
apt to cohousing. Unfortunately, although we who want to live here have all
of the heart needed, we often have neither the finanicial resources or in
some cases socio-political or real estate development savvy that is required
to build it. 

I have the distinct privilege of living with Katie McCamant and we have
talked a lot, not only about where CoHousing is heading in the US in the
broadest way, but also about the most practical of development problems. It
seems that we are going to have find developers or indivduals who own sites
or are willing to buy property which they can hold until the project is built
and the individual units are sold.  If it is a conventional developer, we
have show him or her (but you know it is always him) how he will make money
from the deal. An individual angel, on the other hand,  might very well be
willing, even eager to see land he/she already owns, or is willling to
acquire, put to this use because he/she actually believes in cohousing. What
a concept! In any event it simply asking too much, both in terms of available
cash and a high degree of risk, of many who are perfect future residents.

Joani Blank
Doyle Streeet Cohousing
Emeryville, CA


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