Synergy & Problems in Florida | <– Date –> <– Thread –> |
From: Sharon Villines (sharonvillines![]() |
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Date: Wed, 9 Feb 2000 09:04:43 -0700 (MST) |
I would add a few more comments about the project in Florida. The project did not fail from lack of enthusiasm on the part of the core group or from lack of focus on recruitment or lack of good intentions or lack of sheer effort or lack of organization. Part of the problem was life in South Florida. Real estate here is incredibly cheap. Since it is one of the most rapidly growing areas of the country there are numerous housing developments--gated communities-- going up everywhere. They all have clubhouses and pools, etc., which on the surface seem to be very similar to cohousing. Of course they aren't but its a hard sell. The area is also greatly dispersed. The site was in a small town north of Miami with not bad but not attractive schools. Other sites were considered closer to Miami but they all had some difficulty or another. it was hard to find people who wanted to move several towns away or commute further than they were already commuting. And all sites would have required that. When the process extends over several years, you lose people as fast as you attract them. Families have to make commitments to schools systems. Growing families need more bedrooms _now_, not at some indefinite time in the future. People are transferred or take jobs out of the area. Marriages break up. Marriages start. Life goes on. Professionals are essential from start to finish. Experienced professionals with track records--people who have done it before. Synergy was dealing with a variety of unassociated professionals who had not worked together previously and didn't even consult each other when they worked on Synergy. The architect for example did not talk to the construction manager. Synergy members were doing all the back and forth. One member with construction experience was hired by the group to do the leg work, but ti wasn't enough. The architects plans were almost a year late, were turned in with many defects that had to be corrected, and construction costs had risen in that time. The architect seemed to have no sense of the costs of his additions and went forward with his designs even when his engineers said he would have to add things like steel beams, doubling the costs. He did this without consulting us. Other professionals charged thousands of dollars and did nothing. And threatened law suits if they weren't paid. After Katy and Chuck did the initial design workshops, the local professionals just didn't produce. Even when people contribute their time for the advantage of getting experience it will hold you back. Inexperience means people have to learn and it will take twice as long. This will cost you families/households who cannot wait around indefinitely--like 5 years. Households willing to buy a unit are worth much more than you can ever save in professional fees. Synergy was a fabulous project in concept and in design. That was also part of the problem. People who are interested in cohousing are also interested in affordable housing. Environmental and innovative designs are not cheap. They are less expensive down the line, but few people have the funds to pay for tomorrow today. The money isn't there. The difference between the Synergy experience and the Takoma Village experience is like night and day. Takoma has a developer who works with other professionals with whom he has established working relationships. He hasn't done cohousing before but he has done numerous multi family developments. He can tell the design team what will work and what won't and why. He has architects and construction managers he can consult in a telephone call. The people who work with him know they have to produce on a time schedule or they will not only lose this project but future ones. For example, huge savings were achieved by selling units on a general floor plan and not doing the expensive working drawings until most of the units were sold. This allowed Takoma to change the mix of units without redoing tens of thousands of dollars of working drawings (requiring re-engineering, etc.). When the two-story, two-bedroom units were not selling, they were changed to the two-bedroom flats people wanted. Money was not invested in engineering before the place was ready to be engineered. Competition in construction is very high. The margins are very narrow. Time is money. Professionals don't have time to spend educating and hand holding the inexperienced. And the inexperienced don't know what questions to ask to avoid problems. An experienced developer is essential. It doesn't mean less work for the group--the Takoma people meet once a week in business meetings and at least once in committee meetings. All decisions go through the group--gas or real fireplaces? Open or closed kitchen? On and on. But the project will be built and occupied in less than two years. Sharon -- Sharon Villines, Butler The MacGuffin Guide to Mystery Fiction http://www.macguffin.net Takoma Village Cohousing, Washington, DC http://www.home.earthlink.net/~takomavillag/
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Synergy & Problems in Florida Sharon Villines, February 9 2000
- Re: Synergy & Problems in Florida Marya S. Tipton, February 9 2000
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