so is it cohousing? Richdale Place in Cambridge, MA
From: Raines Cohen (rc3-coho-Lraines.com)
Date: Wed, 7 Feb 2007 18:33:20 -0800 (PST)
http://www.richdaleplace.com/

3 stories, 20 units. Under construction, framed, built enough for site tours by last November. 2008 occupancy?

It's virtually nextdoor to Cambridge Cohousing, being developed by Cambridge Cohousing's developer (and resident) Gwendolyn Noyes. It's developer-driven, with community-building as part of the process, developer-sponsored monthly meetings of future residents with a trained facilitator, training investment, etc.

It links to http://www.cohousing.org/ but doesn't explicitly reference cohousing, no, wait, they do get explicit in one spot:
Background for Community:

Richdale Place is the latest in a growing number of condominium residences that Oaktree Development has created especially to be community-oriented. It is one of our primary corporate goals to design projects which enable people to enjoy the benefits of neighborliness within an urban condominium dwelling. American mobility fosters what is often not a natural or happy lifestyle. In response to the sense of isolation some people experience, a new form of housing, called Cohousing, has become popular. In Cohousing, a group comes together with the intention of finding a site, designing, and then building a community. This takes enormous dedication and a long time, and many people who are otherwise attracted to such a friendly and natural way of life don't have the time to give to the endeavor. It's being represented by a realtor.
So is this modern fast-track cohousing for busy people who don't want to take the time to develop it from scratch?

Here's what's listed for common amenities:

In addition, there are unique, community-enhancing spaces to be enjoyed by the residents: a sunny, furnished living-dining room with a fireplace and space for a piano;
a fully-applianced kitchen adjacent to the dining room;
a sunny, common area patio accessed directly from the common living room; a meeting room/library with adjacent bathroom which converts without effort into…
a comfortable guest room
a package delivery room off the main entry allowing secure delivery of FEDEX, UPS, etc, without the receiver having to be home. an unprogrammed, finished, windowed space that can be an office, workroom, fitness area or storage, depending upon residents’ preference a roof deck/garden that has elevator access, sunny exposure all day, sunset views

I couldn't glean enough from the sketches and views to determine how pedestrian-oriented it will be, but with parking below

My answer would be "yes"... what's yours?

I'd be very curious about how it gets marketed, whether they do outreach to cohousing channels, and whether they get into common meals right from the get-go.

Raines
in mourning for the parent of a friend involved in the cohousing movement


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