Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Common house last?

[Lynn Nadeau (welcome]

Some turn-key projects have the common house waiting for the first 
families. Especially in groups where everything is built and moved into 
at once. 

At RoseWind, a lot development model, it would have been GREAT to have 
the common house up first, to be used as a resource during people's 
construction phases, to get everyone in the habit, to show people that 
they didn't need to build such a big house, etc. 

The realities of our self-financed project, with joiners dribbling in 
over years, and thus their money coming in over years, meant that we 
needed all the first money to buy the land, all the next money to install 
the infrastructure (roads, utilities, etc) and didn't have the full 
common house budget till our last lots were sold, eleven years from the 
first meetings and land purchase. So now we are building the CH after 16 
homes are already up and occupied, and 24 families are members. 

It would have been better even to have had an interim CH of some sort, 
and we have benefitted by having a big room available for eating and 
meeting for the past two years. But building late can work. One way we 
are getting to know each other, and building community, is designing and 
building the CH as a group project. A typical work day sees about 10 of 
us working most of the day, sweeping, mixing stucco color samples, 
installing speaker wire or prepping recycled flooring wood. Lots of 
on-site brainstorms. The numbers swell at lunch. We have a good time. 

So my bottom line is: earlier is doubtless better, but it's not the only 
way to do it. 

Lynn Nadeau, RoseWind Cohousing, Port Townsend WA
It took eleven years, but our membership is now COMPLETE at 24 households!
One beautiful big custom home is likely coming up for resale soon- 
contact me for details. Features galore-radiant oak floors, solar water, 
a castle-like tower with a spiral staircase that has a tunnel through the 
banister for marble rolling or trumpeting... 4 bedrooms plus a big 
finished attic with windows.