"Sometimes it's difficult for people to understand that CoHousing is not just a modern version of a commune," explains Zev Paiss, president of the Rocky Mountain CoHousing Association. "I tell them that it's more like a condominium."
Paiss, who has lived in the Nyland CoHousing community in Lafayette for the past four years, is now preparing to move into the eleven-unit Nomad CoHousing community, currently under construction between 15th and Broadway in north Boulder, adjacent to the historic Nomad Theater. Proceeds from the sale of some of the theater's land to the CoHousing group are expected to help reopen the neighborhood playhouse by this spring.
The concept of CoHousing communities originated decades ago in Denmark, its proponents say, but the idea of combining the autonomy of private ownership of individual homes with shared common facilities such as dining halls has slowly begun to catch on in the States. The townhomes are self-contained, allowing for more privacy than in the hippie communes of the Sixties, but residents share common areas and responsibilities such as child care. "The unique thing about CoHousing," says Paiss, "is the ongoing connections among the residents. If a problem bubbles up, you can nip it in the bud because you know everyone personally."
More than 24 CoHousing communities have sprouted up around the country over the past five years; Colorado has at least three, in Littleton and Aspen as well as Lafayette. Paiss describes them as an attempt to re-create the intimacy of the old town neighborhood. "It's almost like having the safety of a gated community without the gates," he says. "Everybody knows each other, and as a result, there's very little crime. Some people don't even lock their doors." In the four years he's been living in Nyland, Paiss says, he recalls only one criminal incident: A burglar broke into several cars parked on the periphery of the development.
Nyland has attracted an economically diverse group, including architects, entrepreneurs and a retired Air Force pilot, says Paiss. And that diversity, he adds, is being specifically encouraged in the Nomad development. Diversity happens almost naturally, say CoHousing proponents, because the Nomad units range in price from $80,000 to $300,000, ensuring that they will attract more than just yuppies. And the originators of CoHousing projects screen applicants by inviting them to community dinners and meetings. "Unless you're completely antisocial," Paiss adds, "you'll fit in."
The Boulder development is scheduled to open this August. In a show of togetherness, residents, developers and members of the Nomad Players conducted an "earth blessing" at the construction site last month. But the marriage between CoHousing and the Nomad Theater is one of convenience as much as ideology. Howard Bashinski, president of the playhouse's board, says he is pleased about the prospect of being neighbors with a CoHousing community. The theater will even share a common dining facility that will be used as a cafe during performances. But he acknowledges that the playhouse's primary goal was to raise enough cash to reopen.
The curtain dropped on the 150-seat theater after the City and County of Boulder put pressure on the group to make renovations in order to meet fire and safety codes. The actual playhouse takes up only part of the land that was donated to the theater group in the early Sixties, so the board decided to sell off the remaining parcel to raise the needed cash. A CoHousing group, which had been looking for a plot of land in Boulder for several years, jumped at the deal.
"We liked the general idea of CoHousing," says Bashinski, "but to tell the truth, we realized that selling to the CoHousing group would be better for us financially" than if the board had sold the land in plots for individual residences. Selling the land to the CoHousing group also helped speed up the sale. "It was the type of project that the city of Boulder could get behind," he explains.
That's because one of the CoHousing movement's primary goals is to create moderately priced housing. "Boulder has a strong commitment to affordable housing," says Boulder planning director Kathy McCormick. "Because of this, we supported the CoHousing project as a positive housing solution."
Without support from the city's housing division, all parties say, the sale of the Nomad property could have taken longer to complete. And a main reason for the city's support was that seven out of the eleven Nomad CoHousing units are to be "permanently affordable." Those units have deed restrictions mandating that any resale must be at a price within the income range the unit originally was designed for.
CoHousing projects traditionally have been sparked by groups of people who want to find some economical way to create their own community. And that's made the process slow as potential residents struggle to find builders and wade through the construction process. But the Nomad development marks a change: It's the first one in which a developer has taken the reins from the start. And developers have much more experience in handling zoning laws and finding financial support.
"My previous experience was mostly with building custom homes and planned communities," says Jim Leach, president of Wonderland Hill Development Company, which is overseeing the Boulder project. "CoHousing combines both of these aspects at the same time."
After 25 years of building more traditional planned communities, Wonderland Hill became involved in CoHousing when the Nyland residents approached the developer for assistance in the latter stages of their CoHousing development. The company has been involved with the Nomad project since its inception.
Leach does point out that even though the idea of shared space would seemingly lower the cost of individual units, in fact CoHousing "really isn't a lot cheaper than a traditional home." Leach says that CoHousing groups as a rule tend to demand a higher-quality product, and because of this, the price goes up.
Nevertheless, he says, the demand for CoHousing projects is increasing. In order to meet that demand, Wonderland Hill and other developers have several other CoHousing communities in the works. Zev Paiss contends that the lifestyle and sense of community that CoHousing offers may make such projects more popular than traditional suburban enclaves.
Leach echoes Paiss's optimism, adding that CoHousing has a rich future in part because it's much less threatening than sprawling planned communities.
"Governments like the idea of CoHousing because it's socially progressive and encourages community," he says. "Neighborhood groups like it because the CoHousing residents are community-oriented individuals. The concept sells very well.
