Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Buying Land

[Willie Schreurs (Willie]

> From: NKaten947 [at] aol.com
> Date: Wednesday, April 16, 1997 10:15 AM
> 
> Hi, 
> I didn't get much response to my last inquiry, so I would like to ask
again.
> Our group is talking to land owners about buying a piece of property.  At
> this time there are only six households involved and we are looking at a
> piece for 27 homes.
> Have other groups bought land with this few families?? How has it gone? 
We
> are in Bellingham, WA with a surrounding population of 150,000 and an
> Eco-Village is also forming.  We are concerned that we won't get enough
> members.  Has anyone had trouble getting members in smaller urban areas? 
We
> would like to tell the land owners some positive experiences from other
> groups ( and our own peace of mind)..

        It happened before I joined, and I can't quite remember now, but I 
believe
that Greyrock Commons had less that 10 members when the land was purchased
(our final size is 30 households).  The area is similar in population to
your area (Fort Collins has a population of about 100,000) and like you are
60 -70 miles north of larger areas of population.  About 7 of our families
came from out of state.  I sense that one of your concerns is the "carrying
capacity" for cohousing communities.  I can't speak for your area, but
another group is (rapidly) forming in Fort Collins; Martinez Park is
following the "developer-driven" model and if they keep on going at their
current rate they should be well into construction by this time next year.

    /\                        Willie Schreurs                        /\
   //\\ <Willie [at] Greyrock.org>(H) <WSchreurs [at] vines.colostate.edu>(W) 
//\\
  ///\\\            Greyrock Commons, Fort Collins, CO             ///\\\