Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Forming Group needs help

[Mike Swettenam (miketsw]

Hi Maggie,

I am one of the founding members of Oak Creek Commons cohousing in Paso 
Robles, CA.  We had a long haul to attract people to our 36 home 
community.  What really helped us during our 4 year journey was hiring 
Neshama Abraham to work with us on our marketing.  Here is the website 
with more information <http://abrahampaiss.com/ >

If you have more questions, feel free to contact me.

Mike Swettenam
Oak Creek Commons
Paso Robles, CA

Neshama Abraham
On Oct 5, 2006, at 10:51 AM, maggiedutton wrote:

> This message below is posted on behalf of a forming group in Nanaimo, a
> gorgeous city on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada.  Maggie 
> Dutton
>
> We Need Your Help!
>
> Without five to seven new members invested in Pacific Gardens by 
> December
> 21, 2006, the project risks folding.
>  
> Not only will the dream of a green cohousing community in Nanaimo die 
> but
> many investors and owners risk the loss of all or some of their 
> investments,
> over $800,000 to date – not a good thing for us or the cohousing world 
> in
> general.
>  
> In retrospect we could have, and probably should have, done some things
> differently but we’ve successfully danced our way through a maze of
> rezoning, consultants, city requirements, design limitations, and 
> more, only
> to be thwarted by a lack of committed members.
>  
> We’re now ready to start building but without 17 owners, we will not 
> be able
> to secure construction financing. We keep hearing from prospective 
> members
> that they will commit when construction starts – a classic Catch-22
> situation. Unfortunately, the maxim “build it and they will come” is 
> most
> certainly true but lenders don’t operate on the basis of that 
> philosophy.
>  
> In August we announced the birth of our “Parachute Strategy,” an 
> approach
> whereby new members could join Pacific Gardens without the risk that 
> present
> owners and investors have incurred. Shares and shareholder loans would 
> be
> held in trust until construction financing was secured and the building
> phase guaranteed. This offered what we thought was a great, risk-free
> invitation to those teetering on the fence. Unfortunately, it hasn’t 
> as yet
> had the results we’d hoped for.
>  
> We offer a profitable opportunity for those who might wish to purchase 
> a
> unit for investment or rental purposes complete with a list of 
> responsible
> community-minded folks who would love to rent it.
>  
> We are so close – but after years of effort, many owners at Pacific 
> Gardens
> have reached their saturation point, both from a financial and time
> commitment. We see the emergence of for-profit green communities in 
> Victoria
> – how long before our idea is turned into a for-profit building?
>  
> How can you help? Maybe you know someone who’s looking for a cohousing
> community or who wants to live on Vancouver Island.  Invest in us, talk
> incessantly about us, send us your ideas – tell us what are we doing 
> wrong
> (or right), offer solutions, feedback – anything you think might help.
> Thank you. 
> Judy Delogne
> on behalf of Pacific Gardens Cohousing Community
>
>  
>
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