Cohousing-L Mailing List: land trust open for cohousing

[kidoine (kidoine]

To interested cohousing groups looking for land:

Swallow Rise Land Trust in Wendell, Massachusetts is open to
exploring the use of its land for a cohousing project.  The 120+
acre piece of land is located on the eastern ridge of the
Connecticut River valley, in the hills of western Massachusetts.
Deed restrictions and covenants support development of the land for
agricultural and dwelling purposes. 

About 10 acres of the land is an open field with south exposure. 
Woodland surrounds this field and wetland abuts the some of the
woodland.  Neighbors include the 1200+ acre Whetstone Brook
Wildlife Sanctuary, owned by Massachusetts Audubon. With relatively
large stretches of contiguous protected land (1/3 state forest,
plus other conservation land) that harbors abundant wildlife and a
resilient, diverse population of about 900 people, the town of
Wendell is unique in the area. We are about 20 miles north of the
Five College Area (UMASS, Amherst, Mt. Holyoke, Hampshire and Smith
Colleges).

Efforts are currently under way to develop a plan for the use of
the land for housing.  At present there is one house on the
property.  Bylaws have been adopted and a leasehold agreement has
been drafted.  Shareholders can own dwellings, but land is leased
from the trust. Shares in the trust are valued at approximately
$25K, based on the equitable investments of the current
shareholders.  Costs of a share could be reduced if the investment
were distributed among more shareholders (there are 6 now and the
bylaws allow for 12).  A share entitles the holder to build a
dwelling on the land.  Conceivably, the by-laws could be changed to
accomodate a co-housing development of more than 12 dwellings.

If interested, contact:

Michael Idoine
69 Locke's Village Road
Wendell, MA  01379-0953
508/544-2623

or, reply to kidoine [at] coopext.umass.edu