Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Steve Welzer's Challenge to the cohousing 'system'

[Kathleen Lowry (kathleenlowrylpcclmft]

Katie!  Hi.  I would love to do your workshop, but am thinking you'll have
people who can contribute a lot more to the movement than I could when
done.  My role would be the social design part.  I'm curious to know if I
get a certificate in research/survey design if that would up my ability to
make a solid contribution.  I think I'll apply, understanding the
situation.
Kathleen Lowry
MA, LPCC, LMFT
952-270-1654
kathl <kathleenlowryLPCCLMFT [at] gmail.com>eenlowryLPCCLMFT [at] gmail.com
<kathleenlowryLPCCLMFT [at] gmail.com>



On Tue, Mar 14, 2023 at 11:25 AM Kathryn McCamant <
kmccamant [at] cohousing-solutions.com> wrote:

> This is exactly why I created my 500 Communities Program (see
> https://www.cohousing-solutions.com/about-the-program)  to train more
> professionals to work in this space: developers, project managers,
> marketing and process professionals. The next webinar about the program is
> April 6th, more information on my website.
>
> To the best of my knowledge, there are currently no developers initiating
> communities in the way Jim Leach or I did (Doyle St, Nevada City, Wolf
> Creek Lodge), nor (and especially) putting in their own money. So all new
> projects that have successfully launched are by people who fronted their
> own funds to find land and pay for all the development costs until they
> could get to a construction loan…. And yes, that is a big lift!
>
> Housing, generally, got more expensive and difficult to build after the
> 2008 recession, and thus so has cohousing.
>
> I am a big believer in the buyers group/professional developer partnership
> but to date, most developers feel they can’t make enough money doing
> cohousing to make it worth it. I think they can if they discipline the
> process and I can show people how to do that.
>
> Re community involvement:  Neither the developers nor the banks believe
> that cohousing buyers will be there at the end to buy if they don’t have
> money on the line…ie skin in the game.  Just imagine a year like the last
> when we suffered a doubling plus of interest rates. That said, I think
> there is a hybrid approach that combines real commitment and involvement
> from buyers while the real estate project is led by professionals. The real
> community comes from the social design, supported by the physical design.
> But you won’t get the depth of community we have come to expect in
> cohousing without real attention to the social design.  You can learn how
> with my 500 Communities Program.
>
> Katie
> --
> Kathryn McCamant, President
> CoHousing Solutions
> Nevada City, CA 95959
> T.530.478.1970  C.916.798.4755
> www.cohousing-solutions.com
>
>
>
> From: cohousing-l <cohousing-l-bounces+kmccamant=
> cohousing-solutions.com [at] cohousing.org> on behalf of Sophie Rubin <
> yophiest [at] gmail.com>
> Reply-To: Cohousing-L <cohousing-l [at] cohousing.org>
> Date: Monday, March 13, 2023 at 10:08 AM
> To: Cohousing-L <cohousing-l [at] cohousing.org>
> Subject: Re: [C-L]_ Steve Welzer's Challenge to the cohousing 'system'
>
> Helping create a slew of Wonderland Hill's seems like a path for reaching
> what Steve thinks is a huge market.  And how do we check that statement; or
> rather prove it to developers?
>
> I’m a developer (nonprofit/government) who has been aware of cohousing for
> over a decade and am planning/hoping to move into cohousing with my partner
> soon. I’ve recently joined the listserve and I’m following this discussion
> closely.
>
> Please let me know who I should reach out to who has experience working
> with professional developers and/or project managers.
>
> What I will be trying to figure out is exactly what data is necessary to
> determine real market demand and what banks/investors need to feel secure
> in backing this type of development project.
>
> Advice and opinions welcome!
>
> Sophie
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