Cohousing-L Mailing List: Common House Size - Info Needed.

[Audreylamb (Audreylamb]

Hi all:
Solterra is a beautiful lot development cohousing community of 40 families in
Durham, NC about 6 miles north of Chapel Hill. Almost everything is sold, but
a few lots are still available.  We are excited about the current construction
of 8 new homes in addition to the 5 that are now occupied.  Everything is
really coming together: 10-12 are due to start in the next few months and the
rest within 2-3 years.

One of the final issues we are struggling with is the size of the Common
House.  We will have 40 families at completion and our Common House will need
to provide adequate space for common meals, meetings and a variety of other
activities.  Space comes at a stiff price, so we would be very grateful of any
guidance existing groups may be able to offer us to help us avoid either
having excess expense or inadequate space.

In order to get the info we need with as little effort as possible on your
part, we have prepared a list of numbered questions.  To reply, just list the
number of the question and the number representing your response.

Questions:

1. How many square feet of floor space do you currently have (or plan to have)
in your Common House?

2. How many square feet of floor space do you have (or plan to have) in your
dining area including kitchen and pantry?

3. How many households live, (or will live) in your cohousing community?

4. If you are up and running, how would you rate the size of your Common
House? (a) seriously undersized, (b) somewhat undersized, (c) about right, (d)
somewhat oversized, (e) seriously oversized.
 
5. If you are up and running, how would you rate your dining area? (a)
seriously undersized, (b) somewhat undersized, (c) about right, (d) somewhat
oversized, (e) seriously oversized.

6. If you have the time, we would love to hear about any changes you would
make if you could redesign your Common House.

We would be most grateful for any and all responses.  We know you are busy,
but your response would be most helpful.  We expect to be in our new home in
Solterra in about a year and will be glad to share our experiences with you.

Audrey and Gordon Lambert