Cohousing-L Mailing List: preservation and community

[Nancy R. Lyons (nlyons]

It warms the cockles of my preservation heart to a thread about 
recyling old houses!  Rehabilitation design and historic consulting 
have been my focus for 12+ years in Colorado; and my efforts to 
realize a model cohousing redevelopment site have been fueled by my 
committment to preservation and community.  Does anyone else see this 
connection?

When we give up the notion that more is better, and new is 
better...and we can admit that our love affair with the automobile 
(who promised us unprecented freedom and individualism) has led us 
astray into a fragmented and fearful place...well, then some new 
directions begin to emerge.

Let's look at what we have in the existing built environment - fine 
old houses, groups of houses with stores below, and neighborhoods.  
All with a story to tell about the people who came before us and 
about we got here today.  Preservation, at its heart, is about anchoring and 
connections and community.  If we are going to throw out an anchor, 
with a cohousing community, let's hook on to something solid.  

p.s. Moving housing is certainly do-able and I concur that costs are 
very dependent upon the hassles incurred on the route.  Some large 
(1,000 sq.ft./floor) two-story, 1910 vintage houses have been relocated in 
Denver 
with costs ranging $50,000-$150,000.  But heck, you can't make 'em 
like that today.
brick houses 
Nancy Lyons
Preservation Partnership
Denver, CO 
(303) 399-4550  fax 329-3328