Cohousing-L Mailing List: re: N.Y. Times Article

[William Germino (germino]

Below is the New York Times article for the benefit of others who may have 
wanted it besides Rebecca.  For those with Word95 or later, I can send you 
a file I compiled with 30+ cohousing articles from the last two years (the 
only notable one I know I'm missing is the July USA Today one---if anyone 
has it I'd be grateful to get it).  It's a large file because of the number 
of articles and formatting.  I already tried posting it to this list but it 
was rejected because of it's size (280KB).  Just repsond to me directly if 
your interested.

Bill Germino
Germino [at] babson.edu
Norwood, MA



THE NEW YORK TIMES
September 7, 1997, Sunday, Late Edition - Final
SECTION: Section 9; Page 1; Column 4; Real Estate Desk
LENGTH: 3138 words
Putting Up Housing With A Built-In Sense of Community
By MARY McALEER VIZARD
 In the sun-dappled water, Michael Sklaroff tried to explain why he and his 
wife, Gail, decided to leave Manhattan and join a cohousing community being 
built in Ulster County.
Gail decided to leave Manhattan and join a cohousing community being built 
in Ulster County.
"We're not trying to escape the city," said Mr. Sklaroff, an elementary 
school teacher in New York City who is still living in his Manhattan rental 
apartment while the house in Saugerties, N.Y., is being built. "We'd been 
interested in cohousing for a long time when I heard a radio interview 
about a group starting up in Saugerties. At first we started going to 
meetings informally. Then we got more involved and became permanent 
members."
He squinted into the sunlight glinting off the clear water to get a better 
look at his laughing children. "The truth is I could never afford to live 
like this on my own," he said. "This is an incredible piece of property. We 
both fell in love with the land."
The Sklaroffs were in Saugerties to attend a meeting of about 20 families 
who are soon to make an eight-acre wooded peninsula their home. Even though 
their houses will not be ready until fall at the earliest, the families 
already know one another; they have been together, in some cases for years, 
working on every aspect of the development. Called Cantine's Island, the 
12-unit town-home complex is one of the newest examples of cohousing, a 
process in which the homeowners-to-be act as the developers and design a 
life style based on the principles of cooperation and interaction.
In keeping with cohousing guidelines, the Cantine's Island homes will be 
built on a small portion of the property, with the rest left as open space. 
The housefronts will face a common area or pedestrian walkway, encouraging 
interaction among neighbors. Parking will be in a separate building away 
from the houses, allowing residents to walk through the development to 
their homes. And there will be a common house, the focal point of all 
cohousing communities, where residents can choose to share meals, perhaps 
set up a day-care center, and have social and recreational activities.
Cohousing has been around for several decades, but interest in it has 
recently begun to grow. There are 28 established cohousing communities in 
the United States, and 26 more are under construction, according to Kay 
Abrahams, a spokeswoman for several cohousing groups, including the Rocky 
Mountain Cohousing Association.
"That means the number of cohousing communities will double by the end of 
this year," Ms. Abrahams said. "And there are as many as 150 groups that 
have formed to start new projects." (She cautioned, however, that many of 
those 150 would probably not come to fruition.)
A 30-unit cohousing community in Ithaca, N.Y., has just been completed, 
with plans to build 90 to 120 additional homes. Three developments in 
Massachusetts have a total of 64 units, and several other developments are 
either under construction or in the planning stage in that state. The 
movement is also active in California and the Rockies.
The first cohousing project was built outside of Copenhagen in 1972, by 27 
families who "were frustrated with suburban subdivisions and apartment 
complexes," said Kathryn McCamant, who, with her husband, Charles, Durrett, 
brought the concept to this country in their book, " Cohousing, a 
Contemporary Approach to Housing Ourselves" (Ten Speed Press). "They wanted 
a child-friendly environment with greater cooperation."
The husband-and-wife architecture team based in Berkeley, Calif., spent a 
year studying in Denmark, and published their book in 1988; it has become 
the prime guide for the cohousing community.
Cohousing is not new, Ms. McCamant said in a recent interview. It is 
actually a recreation of an old idea, she said, in that it tries to 
replicate the life of a small town or village. "The connection to other 
people and involvement in their lives is something we used to take for 
granted," she said. "The people who opt for cohousing are looking for 
something they can't find in conventional housing."
It is sometimes confused with communal living, which it decidedly is not. 
In cohousing, there is no unifying ideology, Ms. McCamant said. Instead, a 
diverse group of people from all income levels and backgrounds builds their 
own homes, with as much privacy as each family wishes.
The most pronounced difference from conventional housing is that all 
residents have an equal say in the decisions involving the project. They 
act as their own developers, and that involvement continues after 
construction is completed.
Dr. Michael Campain, an internist, said his reason for joining Cantine's 
Island was not so much dissatisfaction with conventional housing as a 
desire for something more. "We're a tribal species and I was looking for my 
tribe," Dr. Campain said. " Cohousing helps you meet needs that the nuclear 
family can't. Kids should have other kids and other adults around to 
influence them. Otherwise family neuroses just keep getting passed around. 
Children especially need other models."
COHOUSING is also moving into a new phase, with developer-driven projects. 
Instead of a group of people getting a development started, a Colorado 
developer named James Leach is assuming that role, which includes 
recruiting the purchasers, putting up the financing and then guiding the 
group in forming its own community.
Mr. Leach is completing the first developer-driven cohousing project, 
called Nomad, an 11-unit development in Boulder, Colo.; he is planning a 
second, Martinez Park, with 34 units, in Fort Collins, Colo.
California and Colorado lead the country in the number of cohousing 
communities. But the idea has been catching on in other areas as well. New 
York's first was the Ecovillage at Ithaca, which is scheduled to have three 
to five cohousing neighborhoods. Other cohousing groups are hoping to build 
in Troy and Rochester.
Massachusetts has three communities: two in Amherst with a total of 40 
units, and one in Acton with 24 units. And as many as seven projects, two 
of them in Boston, are in the construction or planning stage, Ms. Abrahams 
said.
The recent growth of cohousing can be attributed to its proven track record,
 Ms. McCamant said. "Selling the concept at the early stages was extremely 
difficult," she said. "It was new and people had no idea what to expect. 
Now there are cohousing communities across the country to point to. If 
people want to they can visit them, talk to residents and see how they live 
and what the pitfalls are."
A few years ago, there were active cohousing groups in Manhattan and 
Westchester, but both have since disbanded. Some of the Westchester group 
eventually joined Cantine's Island.
William Chestnut had been a co-founder of the Westchester Cohousing Group 
and spent years and thousands of dollars trying to establish a site. He now 
looks back on the experience as a great education, albeit a costly one.
"There was a core group that spent between $4,000 and $5,000 each to do 
architectural studies and develop site plans for particular pieces of 
property," Mr. Chestnut said. "But it really got frustrating because some 
people would drop out and others would come in with completely new ideas. 
Eventually it just splintered apart. I'd still like to see it happen, but 
you need to find people who can work together and ride out the rough times, 
and that's not easy."
The most ambitious cohousing project in the country by far is the 
Ecovillage at Ithaca, which intends to have a total of 120 to 150 units in 
three to five cohousing neighborhoods. But it is much more than cohousing. 
Comprising 176 acres, it is has been planned as a sort of laboratory for 
ecological sustainability, with its own farm, water treatment systems and 
energy generators. But most of that is in the future. So far, it has 
completed its first cohousing neighborhood, with 30 homes, and a second is 
now in the planning stages.
"There was a developer for this piece of land before we came who was going 
to build on 90 percent and preserve 10 as open space," said Liz Walker, 
director of the Ecovillage. "For the entire cohousing project, we plan to 
do just the opposite."
Jerry and Claudia Weisburd, the couple who designed the first neighborhood, 
had never done a cohousing project, although they had designed planned 
communities in and around Ithaca. Ms. Weisburd, who grew up in the 
Kingsbridge section of the Bronx, said she tried to incorporate some 
aspects of her old neighborhood into the design. "People were out on the 
stoops," she said. "They knew each other. And everyone spent a lot of time 
outdoors."
It is very important that the community not be isolated, Ms. Weisburd said. 
The Ecovillage is a mile and a half from downtown Ithaca. "It's not 
desirable, I think, to be an enclave," she said. "You don't want 30 houses 
on 100 acres in the middle of nowhere."
Working with a cohousing group had its challenges, Ms. Weisburd said. 
"Building a house is a tense time for even one person," she said. "Imagine 
working with 30 families who all have different ideas about what they want. 
For some this was their first home and they wanted to incorporate all of 
their dreams."
Cohousing is built on consensus, which means that everyone in the community 
must agree on all aspects of design, color, landscaping, even the kinds of 
tables that will furnish the common house.
"At the beginning colors were a problem," Ms. Weisburd said. "Everyone had 
a different idea and would get vehement about it, but as builders we had to 
place restraints. So we offered a palette of earth tones to choose from, 
and we do have a variety of colors in the housing, but at least it's not 
this bizarre group of brightly colored houses sitting together on a 
hillside." Some designers have to ride herd on a community to get its 
members to stick to a unified design. The result of one such effort is 
Harmony Village, a 27-unit cohousing community in Golden, Colo.
It looks like an adobe pueblo village sitting at the base of the foothills 
of the Rockies. The common house resembles a Spanish Mission church. "We 
wanted it to blend in with a Spanish Mission-style condominium across the 
street," said Matt Worswick, an independent designer who has done a number 
of cohousing projects, and who himself lives in Harmony Village.
"I had to make a strong case for a unified design," Mr. Worswick said. 
"People could express their individuality by choosing the trim colors on 
their house. And they could have any kind of door they wanted."
The need for consensus doesn't stop at the design stage, but continues 
throughout the project. Most cohousing communities have regular weekly 
meetings, typically lasting several hours, that deal with such mundane 
issues as where children can skateboard.
"At first I was skeptical about the lofty goals, but I've adapted," said 
Bill Webber, a retired physician living in the Ecovillage at Ithaca. "It 
requires a lot of patience and a willingness to work together."
Joe and Michelle Nolan were the last family to join the Ecovillage's 
cohousing. They were driving by on a motorcycle when they saw the 
construction and immediately decided to buy the last housing lot. "We 
didn't know much about cohousing, but we were intrigued by the concept," 
Mr. Nolan said.
The couple had been living in a conventional house in San Jose, Calif. "We 
had already decided to move back east, but this was a bigger change than we 
planned," Mr. Nolan said. BEING the last to join the neighborhood saved the 
Nolans a great deal of work but made them feel a bit like children who join 
school at midterm. "By the time we came, everyone else had already been 
working together for a long time," Ms. Nolan said. "At first it felt a 
little strange, but we're adjusting."
Carol Gillespie was one of a core group who started Greyrock Commons, 30 
units of cohousing that opened last year in Fort Collins, Colo. "The first 
families moved in after four years of work," Ms. Gillespie said. "By 
cohousing standards, we were on the fast track."
Greyrock Commons occupies 16 acres of flat plains with Greyrock Mountain in 
the distance. The land cost $185,000, Ms. Gillespie said, and financing was 
the hardest part of the process.
"Six of the residents contributed between $5,000 and $10,000, what we call 
risk money," she said. "It's a little scary because you're not sure it's 
really going to be a viable enterprise at that point."
After all 30 houses were sold, the contributors got their money back with 
some profit, Ms. Gillespie said.
Asking residents to risk their own money in that way could be a thing of 
the past, if Mr. Leach succeeds in his plan to pioneer developer-driven 
cohousing projects in Boulder and Fort Collins.
"It really operates in a similar fashion to traditional cohousing, but 
instead of the homeowners' taking all the risk, we share them," said Mr. 
Leach, president of Wonderland Hill Development Company in Boulder. 'We 
also want residents to take some risk financially because it shows 
commitment to the project. Typically they pay for design costs and 
workshops. At the end of the project, residents usually will get that money 
back and some extra in a profit-sharing plan."
Mr. Leach has been building planned communities in Colorado since 1966. He 
has also acted as a consulting developer to several of Colorado's cohousing 
communities. "This way of working is not for every developer," he said. 
"It's a lot of extra work to be so involved with a group of people. You 
trade that for the savings of not having to market or sell the units."
Ms. McCamant praises developer-driven housing but cautioned that for it to 
be true cohousing it was necessary for the community to be involved with 
the developer in all the decisions about how they want to live and the 
designs of their homes. "Developer-driven projects really open up the 
market," she said. "A lot of people who would want to live in cohousing 
can't afford the financial risk. It also helps get financing when a 
professional builder with a proven track record is involved."
Since diversity is a goal in most cohousing projects, the groups try to 
offer a broad range of prices. At the Ecovillage at Ithaca, for instance, 
the smallest unit, a one-bedroom with a study, costs $90,000. The most 
expensive is a four-bedroom, with study, for $155,000. "Those are just the 
base prices," said Ms. Walker, the director. "A lot of people opt for 
custom work, which costs more. Basically you can spend as much as you want. 
You can also build whatever size house you want as long as you stay within 
the design specifications."
In general, cohousing units are smaller because buyers are also paying for 
shared amenities, like the common house, where most communities share meals 
several times a week.
The responsibility for cooking is shared by residents on a rotating basis, 
but equal sharing has not always been easy to achieve, according to Ms. 
Gillespie of Greyrock Commons. "It's been difficult for us," she said. 
"Everyone loves the idea of having a meal prepared, but it's been hard to 
get people to cook."
Many people become involved with cohousing thinking it is an affordable 
alternative and soon find out otherwise. Wendy Weinburd and her husband, 
Matthew, bought a three-bedroom, two-bath house at Cantine's Island. "We'll 
wind up paying $130,000, which is definitely more than we thought," Ms. 
Weinburd said. "You can buy a house in Saugerties for less than $100,000. 
Even a new house would cost between $100,000 and $120,000."
As a general rule, cohousing is thought to cost more up front than 
conventional projects, but there are savings over the long haul. For one 
thing, communities are built to be energy-efficient, with airtight 
construction and insulation. And residents share amenities and equipment, 
like lawn mowers and other tools. "The sharing made so much sense to me," 
Mr. Nolan of Ecovillage said. "In suburban neighborhoods, everyone has 
their tools and an ugly aluminum shed. Here we keep all that stuff in one 
place and everyone can use it."
Now that cohousing has gained acceptance by both developers and the 
financial community, Ms. McCamant sees it building momentum as the 
millennium approaches. "It's really the perfect answer for many of the 
challenges we'll be facing," she said.
One is the increasing isolation people experience in computer-based 
businesses, especially if they work at home. Several communities are being 
planned that incorporate offices in their design, Ms. McCamant said. "It's 
a great idea," she said. "So many people in cohousing have very creative 
careers. They can use the offices even if they work most of the time 
somewhere else."
The Ecovillage at Ithaca built eight offices in their common house, and 
residents bought them outright with their units. Ray and Maria Gasser 
bought two side-by-side offices, where they house their computer consulting 
business, which they had operated out of their home. The total space 
measures 160 square feet, Ms. Gasser said, and cost an extra $20,500.
In true cohousing community spirit, the Gassers intend to allow others to 
use their office equipment when available. "We'll probably just donate one 
whole wall to the equipment," Ms. Gasser said. "And when it's free, anyone 
can come in and use it."
Getting local zoning approvals for the offices was a "regulatory nightmare,
" Ms. Walker said, as it can be in all residential developments. State 
regulations, "are extremely rigid as to the type of businesses permitted 
and percentage of the building that can be used," she said. "They don't 
make a distinction about using a common house."
Cohousing communities can form themselves into whatever legal entity they 
choose. The Ecovillage in Ithaca, for example, is a co-op, with a board 
that has approval power over buyers of an existing home. Cantine's Island 
in Saugerties is a homeowners' association, and resales do not need 
approval by other members of the group.
MS. MC CAMANT said that cohousing was an ideal alternative to communities 
for the elderly. "A lot of retired people opt for cohousing because it 
prevents that sense of isolation older people feel once they stop working," 
she said. "I think it's more desirable than a senior community since it has 
all ages, which is a more natural way to live. Also seniors, who have a 
little more time to spend, can be an invaluable resource."
The Ecovillage at Ithaca has attracted a large proportion of retirees who 
say they find the life satisfying and challenging. Bill Webber, a retired 
plastic surgeon, said he could now indulge a previously unfulfilled passion 
for building and landscaping. "I'm always busy helping people put in a walk 
or plant flowers," he said. "I've always worked with my hands, and I'm 
still doing it here." $

GRAPHIC: Photos: The Ecovillage at Ithaca, N.Y., intends to have 120 to 150 
homes in three to five neighborhoods dispersed over 176 acres. Its first 
neighborhood, with 30 homes, has been completed. (Mike Greenlar for The New 
York Times); Wendy and Matthew Weinburg bought a home at 12-unit Cantine's 
Island cohousing development in Saugerties, N.Y. (Suzanne DeChillo/The New 
York Times)(pg. 1); Matt Worswick, left (Brian Payne for The New York 
Times), and James Leach in Harmony Village in Golden, Colo. Kathryn 
McCamant and husband, Charles Durrett, authors of cohousing book. (Darcy 
Padilla for The New York Times) 
-------------
Original Text
From: Rebbry [at] aol.com, on 10/3/97 8:34 AM:
Is there anyone who could someone send me a copy of the Sept. 7 N.Y. Times
article on cohousing for our portfolio of respectability?  We just
experienced some commune bashing on a real estate radio show.  Thanks,
Rebecca Bryant, Ozark CoHousing