Cohousing-L Mailing List: Fairfax CA low income housing: Vest Pocket Community

[MelaSilva (MelaSilva]

I saw this article in the paper about a community in Marin County, a wealthy
county just north of San Francisco. Are they really cohousing? Did the
residents design it? Are they all rentals? How can they afford full time
staff? Who is Innovative Housing? Anybody know?

Mela Silva
Southside Park Cohousing
Sacramento CA

>From the SF Examiner, Sunday April 21, front page of the Real Estate
section,with a full page picture:

Fairfax Low-cost Housing proves to be a gem

The next time a neighborhood group prepares to go haywire about a low-cost
housing project, they should visit the newly built Vest-Pocket Community in
this Marin County Burb....
....Housing 19 families in a cohousing setting...
...She pays $340  a month rent in the new home...
....Politically, the project's shared-living concept would seem to be
consistant with a town that understands progresive thinking.Residents have
their own individual space, but they share common areas such as group
kitchens, eating areas and community rooms. The project offers a full-time
 resident manager and a housing coordinator who provides support and
assistance for the residents...
..."Innovative Housing's mission is to integrate affordable housing with
practical support services, which strengthen families and help build economic
self-sufficiency," said Joe Hawkins, regional director of Innovative Housing,
which operates 38 shared projects in teh Bay area.
....with a 2,547 square foot community building, including a childrens play
area...
"The co-housing concept is progressive but the imagery of the buildings
themselves are pure American new-craftsman sweetness," said architect Dan
Solomon...
...Visisting this tiny, peaceful, well-built housing development today, it is
hard to believe that for the last TEN YEARS it was the center of a divisive
and nasty civic tussle.... Traffic, the architectural design of the project,
its size and everything else imaginable was thrown at the housing
development. But in the end, the objections didn't stick. "The vision is
vindicated by the results." said architect Dan Solomon..."I just hope it
never takes 10 years to build 19 units of housing again."