Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: In Praise of Jim Leach

[Rich Lobdill (richardl]

Joani wrote:


>Cool!  But then you Coloradans have CoHousing development 's secret weapon,
>Jim Leach. Couldn't you just clone him about 49 times so every state could
>have one just like him? Alternatively, let's send him around the country to
>run seminars for other developers to convince them that they too should
>become cohousing developers.
>
>
>
>Joani
>

We at Tierra Neuva on the Cental Coast of California will soon be forming an
LLC with Jim Leach (Wonderland) as we finally initiate the
financing/construction phase of our 27 home development. This will be Jim's
first foray into out-of-state cohousing development. We have been working
with him as a developer consultant for about 10 months and have had nothing
but positive results. We are on track to break ground in the May/June time
frame (presently one house short of being 70% pre-sold). For Jim to do a
project at a distance, it seems the group needs to be well connected to the
local politics/approval process and be able to contract with a local general
contractor who can work under the direction of Jim. We also have previously
chosen our architects, legal counsel, marketing and engineering
professionals. So, out-of-state, you can't expect the turn-key solution
which Wonderland can give you in the Colorado Front Range but we have found
invaluable the experience Jim brings in terms of oversight and clout which
we can literally take to the bank.

Rich Lobdill
Tierra Neuva Cohousing
Developed by the Grell Cohousing Group
Oceano, CA