Cohousing-L Mailing List: "Second Home" Cohousing Communities

[gary (gary]

Martin Sheehy and Sharon Villines have responded favorably to my
question about whether there may be a market for "Second Home"
cohousing communities within weekend commuting distance of people's
primary homes, especially if the primary homes are located in urban
areas and the second homes are located in more quiet, natural or rural
settings. I would like to hear from more readers on this topic.

As an advocate of ecologically responsible or "green" development, I
strongly support the development of small, energy efficient homes that
utiliize renewable, recycled or recyclable construction materials
whenever possible and that are located (or sited) in ways that
minimally disrupt the surrounding natural environment.
This approach to development would be particularly important (and easy)
to apply in second home communities of the sort described above. It is
an approach I plan to follow as I explore creating a cohousing
community within The Woodland Community at Lake of the Ozarks in
central Missouri (see "www.thewoodlandcommunity.com")

Let me ask whether readers think that it would be better to experiment
with this special type of cohousing community that involved "existing"
cohousers living in urban areas or with urban residents in general? 
Any suggestions about marketing such a second home cohousing community?
 My sense is that developing them in areas within weekend communiting
distance of communities housing major universities would be effective.
What do you think?


Gary A. Storm
Founder
The Woodland Community
Sunrise Beach, MO
Gary [at] thewoodlandcommunity.com
+ 1 (217) 367-0879




> -------- Original Message --------
> Subject: Re: [C-L]_ LLC vs co-op (i.e.,  structures")
> From: Martin Sheehy <martinsheehy [at] yahoo.com>
> Date: Fri, May 12, 2006 9:02 am
> To: Cohousing-L <cohousing-l [at] cohousing.org>
> 
> Yes. The concept of weekend or Summer use of a CoHousing unit I find 
> interesting.
>    
>   For example: Those of us living in Phoenix often want a second home in the 
> High Country to get away on Fridays thru' Mondays & for Summer use to get 
> away from the heat of the desert.
>    
>   I have floated this idea previously.
>   Marty. 
> 
> Sharon Villines <sharon [at] sharonvillines.com> wrote:
>   
> On May 11, 2006, at 4:10 AM, gary [at] thewoodlandcommunity.com wrote:
> 
> > I am also interested in exploring whether there may be a market for a
> > cohousing community targeting individuals or families interested in
> > building second homes (i.e., vacation and/or retirement homes) located
> > within weekend communing distance of where they live.
> 
> I think this is an interesting concept and have been thinking of 
> something similar -- not vacation homes but a rental component attached 
> to a cohousing community.
> 
> In urban areas like Washington DC and Manhattan, you have a large 
> number of people who need a pied a terre in the city while their main 
> residence is elsewhere. At the same time, the high land values require 
> high density developments larger than the sweet spot of 25-30 
> households. What if a cohousing community of 25-30 households were 
> combined with a number of small rental units appropriate for commuters 
> who spent 3-4 nights a week there, or came in for the weekends. In DC 
> there are large numbers of young people who come into town for 
> internships that may last 6 months to 2 years, and political workers 
> who come in for a few years, perhaps for only part of the year.
> 
> Mixing these two kinds of units would enable the cohousing community to 
> maintain intimacy while providing a more home-like atmosphere for the 
> changing landscape of renters. Many of the renters would not 
> participate in meals, etc. but some would. Most would just benefit from 
> the look and feel of a less commercial building.
> 
> Sharon
> ---
> Sharon Villines
> Building Community: A Guide to Creating New Neighborhoods
> http://www.buildingcommunity.info
> 
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