Cohousing-L Mailing List: GROUNDBREAKING! Pleasant Hill Cohousing, CA

[Veena Achar (veena]

Hi
We at Pleasant Hill Cohousing (Northern CA, 15 miles east of Berkeley)
are very excited about this upcoming event. Here is our Press Release
about the event:
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September 11, 2000

CALIFORNIA'S LARGEST COHOUSING PROJECT BREAKS
GROUND IN CONTRA COSTA COUNTY ON SEPTEMBER 20.

Pleasant Hill - The largest cohousing project in California and the
first  in Contra Costa County will be launched in a ground-breaking
ceremony at  4:30 p.m. September 20 (Wed.) in Pleasant Hill.
        The $9 million project is being built by Pleasant Hill
Cohousing, a group  of 32 households that have come together to create
an intergenerational,  multiethnic community on a 2.2 acre plot adjacent
to the Iron Horse Trail
and Monument Boulevard. The project is scheduled for completion in the
fall  of 2001.
        When occupied, it will bring to Contra Costa County a new type
of community which combines private, fully-equipped townhouses with a
large  common house that includes dining facilities, children's
playrooms and
workshops.  There are some 50 similar communities throughout North
America  and another 20 under construction, the most recent of which was
completed  this year in Old Oakland's Swan's Market.
        "I am very excited to see this alternative housing brought to
Pleasant Hill," said Pleasant Hill Mayor Chuck Escover.  "Cohousing
creates a sense  of community that helps in controlling crime.  It also
addresses some
environmental issues that are very important to us, such as a reduction
in  vehicle use," said Escover.  "Traffic is our number one problem.
Anything  we can do to reduce that is welcome."
        Designed by pioneering cohousing architects Kathryn McCamant and
Charles  Durrett, the project flew through city approval with unanimous
support from  members of the Pleasant Hill Architectural Review
Commission, the Planning Commission and the City  Council.  It also has
been endorsed by the Fair Oaks Homes Association.
Three years in the making, the Pleasant Hill cohousing group has been
meeting weekly since 1997 to create the new community.  With a core
group of five to seven  households, led by Barbara and Ted Lynch of
Walnut Creek, cohousing members  scoured Central Contra Costa County for
an appropriate plot of ground on
which to build a modern village. Their search ended finally last year
when  they took an option on a triangular piece of land just north of
the Fair  Oaks Elementary School. The "infill" site will transform a
vacant property
within existing development and is considered a welcome contrast to
urban  sprawl.  It also is located within a mile of BART.
"I've dreamed of this for so long and now it is becoming tangible,"
said  Barbara Lynch.  "We now have 32 members raring to go.  I feel so
grateful  that I can live out my dream."
        Members of the cohousing group had extensive input in designing
the  physical layout of the community, using many energy-efficient
design  elements that result in considerable savings to the
environment.  The  common house cooling tower, for instance, allows
maximum ventilation and  reduces the need for artificial cooling.  All
the private houses have extra  insulation and deep overhangs for shade.
        Members of the group, including some 50 adults and 13 children,
expect to  share such resources as washing machines and cars; many plan
to reach  Pleasant Hill BART via bicycle on the Iron Horse Trail. They
also will have the option of sharing common meals during the week.
        McCamant and Durrett of the Cohousing Company in Berkeley are
managing the  project, their 15th cohousing project since they
introduced the concept to the United States from Scandinavia in the
1980s.  They are nationally-known  authors of  "Cohousing: A
Contemporary Approach to Housing Ourselves" (Ten
Speed Press, Berkeley, 1988, revised edition, 1994).
        A third partner in the project is the Wonderland Hill
Development Co. of  Boulder, Colo., an experienced developer of 11
cohousing projects. S.D.  Deacon of Sacramento will build the community,
while Downey Savings and  Loan Assn. will provide the construction loan
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NOTE:  Reporters are invited to attend the ceremony at 2200 Lisa Lane
in  Pleasant Hill. For information, please call press contacts listed on
this  release.  Directions to the site:  680N to Monument Blvd. exit,
turn
right/east off the exit, make the 2nd right off Monument onto Marcia and
an  immediate left onto Lisa Lane.  Park in the school lot at the end of
the block
** end of Press Release **
--
Veena Achar (veena [at] dnai.com)
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Member: Pleasant HillCohousing, CA
http://members.aol.com/dancerbarb
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