Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: who owns the common house?

[Sharon Villines (sharon]

> On May 7, 2018, at 3:29 PM, Becca Brackett <ecbrackett [at] cohousing.org> 
> wrote:

> The added expense of the commonhouse beyond the cost of the housing units 
> being built seems to be putting the cost of buying a unit much higher than 
> comparable accommodations. I wondered if any community has built a common 
> house that is  owned/financed  by a non-profit  organization, perhaps a 
> daycare  center, a church,  a Senior daycare center, or a College that uses 
> the facility by day making it available to the residents of the Cohousing at 
> night and weekends.

In addition to the problems Ann mentioned of different code requirements, we 
found that after initially being very welcoming to outside groups we wanted to 
use the space ourselves. There were too many conflicts not just in terms of 
time but types of activities. 

We have an open dining room and smaller  rooms lead off from it. Religious 
groups had a different tone than other activities in the CH. Playing pingpong 
while people are meditating or praying or whatever felt uncomfortable. 

More and more people are working from home so not having the CH available 
during the day would be a restriction they may not be comfortable with. We 
often have 1-3 people with their laptops in different parts of the CH — dining 
room, living room, office, etc.

Caregivers bring children in to the kids room during the morning and late 
afternoon.

Snow days bring group activities in the CH. Plus no school days.

The difference between cohousing communities and non-profit organizations is 
that cohousing communities have a mission which is to develop their own 
community. This doesn’t rule out activism, etc., to benefit other communities, 
but cohousing is 24/7. People live there. 24/7. 

Sharon
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Sharon Villines, Historic Takoma Park
In Washington DC, Where all roads lead to Casablanca