Cohousing-L Mailing List: Ann Arbor affordability

[Nick Meima (nick]

Dear Alberta et al: I will address the cost of units in the Ann Arbor area, 
as well a new initiative for Touchstone-the community that is currently 
under construction.
At Sunward we started out 7years ago with a number of  one bed room units 
priced around 100K. These units were subsidized internally by increasing 
the costs of the larger units. Those units have appreciated , and are now 
selling for approximately 145-150 K .
At Touchstone there are four units that are selling for 110 K or less.
There are several units that will be partnered with the local Community 
Land Trust. The Development Co. and the members of the Touchstone community 
committed to a 60 K challenge grant  which is to be matched by the Land 
Trust. What will result is to bring the cost of units down from 30 -40 K 
below where they normally be. The units under the Land Trust arrangement 
will also be permanently affordable ( each time the unit is sold the 
sellers agree in advance to limit the resale appreciation to approximately 
one quarter of what it would normally be)
So in all of the projects in Ann arbor there have real results to the 
efforts to make some of the units affordable. Great Oak was able to reduce 
several units to 20K below what the usual price would be , as well as 
arranged financing vehicles that made it possible for several households 
that would not other wise  have been able to afford to purchase.
There are currently several units available at Great Oak, Sunward, and at 
Touchstone about half of the units are still available.
Nick Meima
> Alberta Maged <albertamaged [at] hotmail.com>
> is the author of the message below.
> It was posted by Fred the Cohousing-L list manager <fholson [at] cohousing.org>
> on request due to a problem posting text (hot html only) from hotmail.
>
> --------------------  FORWARDED MESSAGE FOLLOWS --------------------
>
>
> In this time of the Patriot Act and other modern forms of red-baiting,
> Raines, your letter veers on the edge, as do some of the other responses.
>
> A few weeks back I raised the question of affordability and basically got
> responses that wished me luck in my research.  Now you write in your
> response to Doug Stambler the following:  "If his point on elitism were
> true, we wouldn't be seeing extensive partnerships between Cohousing
> professionals and affordable housing developers and government agencies to
> create permanently affordable housing in communities, or people in
> communities creatively finding solutions to help one another and break
> down the barriers. Please, go beyond the myths and stereotypes to see how
> we're leading the way in this area."
>
> I wish you had sent me that response when I wrote a few weeks ago because
> I would have asked you where these "extensive partnerships" are located.
> Where are they?
>
> Sharon Villines wrote in early November of an experience from years ago of
> people banding together to pool their very limited resources together to
> create a form of community/co-housing.  Joyce Plath also wrote in early
> November of being hired by a developer to create the affordable housing
> component of the Arcata, California development, and she is using
> co-housing as her form (or model?).
>
> I saved these two posted messages because they spoke to the question of
> community, cohousing community for people with less than the required
> hundreds of thousands of dollars.
>
> I have yet to see on any co-housing web site a unit for $150,000, and
> never one less than that.  There is an attempt to create one here in
> Massachusetts, but it is stalled at the moment (not due to the organizing
> committee).  Most of us here in the United States live in urban areas and
> the jobs and housing are in crisis mode.  Reading the recent postings does
> indicate that numbers of folks already in co-housing are in economic
> difficulties, tho I don't say this is at crisis stage, just that even in
> your communities you are seeing people who need financial help.  Many of
> the "new" jobs being created are service jobs with correspondingly low
> wages.
>
> Housing is at a critical place, or the lack of it, and while DS may frame
> his questions outside the current framework of co-housing communities,
> he's not alone in his concerns.  This is an easily accessible list.  Do
> you suggest that there be criteria for those who want to discuss
> cohousing and limit to only the group you choose.
>
> So, once again, I ask where are these extensive partnerships with
> affordable housing, are they in urban areas, and is affordable in the
> quarter million dollar range or lower?
>
>    thank you, bye, Alberta (Somerville, Massachusetts)
>
>
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