Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: The dark days before a site

Re: the dark days before a site

I can't add a lot to what's been said, but i'd echo Rachel (i think it
was Rachel) about flexibility.

<It can't be overemphasized that you might have to become more
flexible in terms of what's acceptable to you.  Our site scared some
people initially (it isn't in an "upscale" neighborhood, and there was
a worry about safety).  It's also the case that no site pleases everybody... 
>

One thing that helped us was that for about 4 months we had "lost" our
site - another buyer had obtained a zoning variance for most of what
they wanted.  ANd the more we looked, the better the site looked to
us. So when (wonder of wonders) the other buyer lost their financing
and the realtor called us, our commitment had increased.  For some,
our site is too urban, for others, too far out of the city  (it's just
about at my limit - 6 blocks from the city line, 2 miles from an urban
activity center).  We were lucky enough to have enough 'burning souls'
to go forward and take the risks (and they were very very real).  We
wound up with 15 households instead of 23 or so on the site, and that
increased costs a lot.  So what's new, hunh.

I sympathize.

Judy

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Judy Baxter, Monterey Cohousing Community,(MoCoCo) Twin Cities Area, Mpls.,MN
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-- e-mail:      baxter [at] epi.umn.edu
15 homes - 7 new townhomes plus 
        8 coop apartments       in the Mansion (a rehab Georgian building)
(built as a retirement home in 1924 -) which also serves as our Common House
coops moved in 1993, townhomes in 1996
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One 3 BR  townhome may be for sale in spring, a studio size home no
sooner than spring, 
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 Voice Mail for Monterey Cohousing - 952-930-7554
 web page: http://www.jimn.org/mococo/ 

Re: The dark days before a site	<– Date –> <– Thread –>
From: Judy Baxter (BAXTERepi.umn.edu)
Date: Tue, 2 Jan 2001 16:33:17 -0700 (MST)