Cohousing-L Mailing List: using a developer

[HS9981 (HS9981]

Hello.  My name is Heather Sullivan-Catlin and I am with the Capital District
Cohousing Group in Albany, New York.  I have been eagerly reading this list
for a month or two and this is my first posting.
   Our group is in the process of exploring various devlopment options.
There are 3 joint venture signing households and about 10 other involved house-
holds in our group.  We are engaged in a land search while at the same time
doing outreach and recruitment.
   I am on our 'developer committee".  We are trying to find out the pros and
cons of using an outside developer.  Unfortunately no one in our group is
knowledgeable about these issues and we are starting from scratch in learning
about them.  We started from the assumption that without having the number of
households we would eventually like to have (25) we will be unable to finance
this project (i.e. secure loans) without the help of a developer.  At the same
time we are wary of the potential loss of control over the project.
   We have been calling the various communities out there with some questions
about how they handled this and we'd like to hear from those we were unable to
reach or from those of you who are currently dealing with these issues.  I
realize these are not quick questions to answer and I appreciate anyone taking
the time to do so.  If you would like to reply to my e-mail rather than the
whole list feel free : HS9981@albany. albany.edu.

1-Did you use a developer for your community?  Why or why not?
2-How did you decide to or not use use a developer?
3-If you did not use a developer how did you proceed?
The rest of the questions are for those who did use a developer:
4-In what capacity did the developer serve?
5-What legal structure did your group have with the developer?
6-At what point in the process did you enter into an arrangement with the devel
oper?
7-How much did it cost to use a developer (what % of total cost)?
8-Who identified the land (was it owned by the developer)?
9-How was construction financed?
10-What risks did the developer assume?
11-What risks did the cohousing group assume?
12-How did you handle:
   -control of development?
   -design?
13-Did you use an architect?  The developer's or one you hired?
14-What was the time line in your development?
15- Did you obtain grants/loans for:
   -affordable housing?
   -energy efficiency?
   -other?
If so, please describe.
16-Is there any advice, in general, you have for a group embarking on this area
 of the process?


Thank you in advance to anyone who might help us out.  Before ending I would ju
st like to add that in addition to being an active member of a cohousing
group I am also a sociology graduate student and am planning to do a dissertsti
on on this movement.  If there are other students out there who would like to
contact me I'd love to hear from you.
   Thanks again!

 Heather Sullivan-Catlin  phone:518-458-7354
 Capital  District Cohousing  -- Contact Lynn Kramer 518-731-9689