Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Very quick question

[R.P. Aditya (aditya]

On Fri, Aug 08, 2008 at 11:06:44PM -0400, Tom Hammer wrote:
> We have a very quick question with an answer needed urgently (by  
> Sunday a.m.):
> 
> we have a developer who is suggesting a 2500 sq ft common house for 34  
> families.
> 
> This seems small to me, and we could really use your quick estimate of  
> the sq ft of your common house and how many households it serves.  We  
> could then come up with  sq ft/household and see if our developer's  
> figures make sense.   .

We (Great Oak Cohousing in Ann Arbor, MI) have 5400 sq. ft. for 37 households.

We have a large dining room -- a 100 diners is about the limit, and we've
filled it on multiple special occasions!

We don't have a basement, but wish we did, and due to the California architect
not figuring that we needed space for 3 furnaces, have some rooms that are
smaller than anticipated -- we wish we had a bigger exercise room at the very
least. We do have 3 offices that are rented by people in the community, plus a
guest room, which all have been appreciated. You can see pictures and judge
approximate sizes at:

  http://www.gocoho.org/campus/common_house/

Thanks,
Adi
Great Oak Cohousing
http://www.gocoho.org
Ann Arbor, MI, USA