Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: 4. Re: Micro Living Units -- Affordable

[Ann Peace (anncpeace]

One thing to keep in mind is that there can sometimes be government
assistance for affordable units, but that assistance can come with strange
rules, eg. only available for families of four making a certain percentage
of area median income.  Still, there might be a funding stream that is a
good match for what you want to do, or for some of what you want to do.

I would guess there might be a funding stream for affordable units for
singles over a certain age, for example.  Maybe you don't want to restrict
all of your affordable units in that way, but if you could get a bit of
grant funding for one or two units, it might make things financially easier
for the group.

Anyway, if I were exploring affordable units, I would definitely check with
an organization like the Foundation Center in SF.  That sort of
organization tracks available funding, and they could help you find a match
if there is one.

The other thing I would consider is that a really tiny home has no room for
overnight guests.  Some cohousing seems to have community guest rooms in
the common house area, and it would be good to include at least one of
those if you are looking to create really petite homes.  People still like
to have a place for friends and family members to stay when they come into
town.



On Sun, Oct 19, 2014 at 6:32 AM, Elaine Ostroff <elaine [at] ostroff.org> wrote:

>
> Hello to this informative list. I've been an appreciative lurker since
> 2008 when our "forming group in Westport, MA" just couldn't make it.
>
> Thanks to Sharon for the link to the Politico article (and MANY other
> comments) along with her reminder about the growing phenomenon of "single
> people."
>  I'm very interested in the potential of affordable, and some accessible,
> rental micro living units in a co-housing model. This would be an urban
> model, with access to public transportation.
>
> Is anyone out there thinking about this? Micro may not be the best
> descriptive term, but it opens up a way of thinking. And, as in the general
> co-housing model, individual units can be smaller given the availability of
> common space. Affordable is another term that has specific definitions
> depending on the context/funding sources.
>
> I'd like to facilitate, collaborate to organize a webinar that describes
> these various models; anyone with examples/suggestions please be in touch.
>
> Elaine Ostroff
> Westport, MA
> Founding Director, Institute for Human Centered Design (retired)
> Boston, MA
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