Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Seattle group seeks property for co-housing

[Craig Ragland (craigragland]

Jordan, what you seek certainly isn't "conventional, neighborhood-level,
large-scale
cohousing," but it definitely shares significant characteristics with
Retrofit Cohousing:

Retrofit Cohousing; A different kind of "fixer-upper"
http://www.cohousing.org/creating_retrofit.aspx
(Cohousing Magazine article by Karen Hester of Temescal Creek Cohousing)

Retrofit Cohousing is often based on a one or more existing structures -
they sometimes
combine multiple dwellings, sometimes convert apartment buildings, and
sometimes
convert buildings created for non-residential purposes.

Also, given your challenges with "conventional realtors," there is a realtor
in Seattle
I strongly recommend you contact...

GreenWorks Realty, owned by Ben Kaufman, who was highly involved with NICA
(Northwest Intentional Community Association). This realty is familiar with
the breadth
of communities in the NW. When Ben first started GreenWorks, he thought he
would
emphasize sales of community homes. After learning how limited that market
was,
he expanded to include Green Homes - a hot, hot, hot market in the Seattle
area
and Green homes sell for premium prices. Another challenge for Realtors
interested in
representing cohousing homes is how many sell privately without realtor
representation.

GreenWorks Realty (http://www.greenworksrealty.com/)

A new group, which I'm a part of, is now exploring a relationship with
GreenWorks
Development Group, a sister company, as we explore developing properties
which
adjoin Songaia Cohousing. Unlike Songaia, which self-developed, we are
interested
in forming an effective partnership with a for-profit developer which can
help the project
move from vision to reality in less time, at lower risk, and with less work
from its
wanna-be cohousers.

Craig

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Subject: Re: [C-L]_ Seattle group seeks property for co-housing
From: Jordan Schwartz <jordan [at] hive-mind.com>

Thanks, Craig for the links and info. I think you're right that the correct
word for what we're trying to establish isn't cohousing.

Great to see so many successful models right in our own neighborhood, we'll
reach out. It's been frustrating working with realtors for so many months
and see so many properties that are simply too small or irreparably
misconfigured, and then have them slowly fade off and stop sending leads.
What makes our ask a bit of a hard match is that we really want to establish
separate, semi-independent living spaces for the family units AS WELL AS
large common space.