Cohousing-L Mailing List: small communities

[MartyR707 (MartyR707]

In a message dated 5/14/97 7:03:07 AM, Julie wrote:

<<
What would be the impact of scaling down our vision, say to 15 units? Do
you folks who live in smaller communities feel overwhelmed by the amount
of work? Do you wish you had more members? Or does the size feel right?
Were the development costs higher (or lower?) because of your size? >>

We at Two Acre Wood are building 14 units on 2 acres.  We're not living there
yet but about to start construction.  so far we have learned:
*It's easier to make decisions with fewer people
*It's more work per person with fewer people
*We had to scale down our wish list for common areas because of less cash.
*It's going to be a wonderful community!! (and we may have nonresident
members who live nearby and participate as community members)

I think whatever size you can make work will turn out as a wonderful project
- you just need to adjust along the way.  It is more of a financial stretch
with a smaller community, but ways can be found to do it (we think!!)

Marty Roberts, Two Acre Wood, Sebastopol
Where our bid package to sub-contractors is about to go out and site work
should begin very soon!