Cohousing-L Mailing List: Studio unit for rent starting April 1st, Portland, OR

[Chad Phillips (chad]

I'm posting this here in case anyone one the list is interested in a very nice 
rental unit in Portland, OR:

500 square foot studio condo with loft available for lease starting April 1st, 
2013. This unit is located in the Trillium Hollow co-housing community, about a 
10-15 minute drive from downtown Portland. Public transportation is about a 5 
minute drive/20 minute walk to the Sunset Transit Center MAX station.

The unit is quite spacious given the limited floor space -- nice high ceilings. 
Big, unique kitchen with a dishwasher. Pictures of the unit and links to 
additional information can be seen at http://f.xylil.com/chad/unit-103-pics/.

The community has a free on-site laundry facility (about 150 feet from the 
unit's front door), a hot tub, and a wood shop -- all on three and a quarter 
wooded acres with a stream running through it. The community Common House is 
available for hosting parties, and also has three guest bedrooms that can be 
reserved should you have guests in town. I've often referred to my time here as 
"living in the promised land". :) Couple of other important things to note 
about this rare opportunity:

 - In the current configuration, the bedroom is located in the loft, which only 
has a three foot ceiling. Access to the loft is via a fairly steep set of 
stairs, so you'll need to be spry enough to get up there and crawl around, and 
not feel claustrophobic. ;) I actually find it quite cozy, a bit like camping. 
Of course you could put the bed downstairs, but I find I really like the extra 
floor space that putting it upstairs gives you.
 - Work share is part of that community participation, and my unit is 
responsible for 8 hours of work share a month -- so you'll need to factor that 
into your 'cost' of the rental.
 - The unit has a ton of windows, which is great for all the light, but given 
its location this makes it a bit of a fishbowl for community traffic going by 
outside. I'd guess highly private people might not like that very much, but if 
you're social, it gives you a lot of opportunities to wave hello. :)

About Trillium Hollow:

Culture: Trillium Hollow is a multi-generational community, with a good mix of 
retirees, working professionals, and kids. We think about issues such as 
sustainability, community building, and how to compassionately resolve 
conflicts. Community members are required to be on at least one community team 
(such as the Repair and Maintenance Team, the Common House Team, the Outreach 
Team), and the teams power most of the real work that happens in the community. 
Probably not surprisingly for Portland, the social culture here is very 
liberal, with a lot of openness to alternative lifestyles.

Meals: Community meal club is every Monday and Wednesday evening during 
non-summer months; a modest fee pays for the whole year of meals, along with 
volunteering to cook/clean for some of the meals. Summer months are potluck 
season, with people in the community calling them when the mood arises (which 
it often does!). Most summer potlucks take place in the lovely second floor 
outdoor courtyard of the main building.

Events: The Community Enhancement Group (CEG) manages the community events, 
such as our Founder's Day event, the Talent/No Talent Show, and Solstice 
Celebration. Often times community members will organize other group events 
throughout the year, such as bringing in a support group or speaker, or putting 
on a weekend workshop in the Common House.

Pricing details:

Rent is $850/month plus workshare, and includes all utilities except phone and 
cable. This is for a 12 month lease. I would be willing to drop the rent to 
$800/month for a 15 month lease. First and last month's rent and a $500 
security deposit will be required prior to move in. The community has a kind of 
interview process for people thinking of living there, and it's important to me 
that potential renters are willing to go through it, to make sure they and the 
community are a good fit.