Kingfisher on Brookdale Cohousing

Our little community is bubbling along, with regular meals, meetings and gardening days. We are weathering the Covid-19 shelter-in-place order by bringing our own lunches and sitting in a wide circle in the courtyard both for our scheduled common meals and daily impromptu lunches. Luckily the weather has been mild, so we aren't feeling isolated, thanks to living in this cohousing community.

We are currently five … Continue reading the story "Apartment for Rent and Covid-19 News"

As we approach National Cohousing Open House Day, on Saturday April 27, 2019, we are excited about how close we are to completing the condo conversion process.

This is a long and complicated process, and the property has needed a lot of maintenance and upgrades. The good news is, it's nearly ready!

The legal and financial … Continue reading the story "Condo Conversion Status"

Here's where the project is at: This lovely, 8-unit apartment complex is ideally configured for community living, and I'm in the process of converting four of the units into condominiums, with the idea that I'll sell them to people who want to create a cohousing community here.

My initial plan was to attract people early in the process, so they would have input into the design … Continue reading the story "Progress Update"

People keep asking what sort of community I want. I tend to say “just cohousing”, but I will try to flesh that out.

More than anything, I want a community where people pull their weight. Where they take responsibility, where they worry about whether they're doing enough, rather than hoping someone else will pick up the slack.

A lot of the work that's required will be taking … Continue reading the story "What type of community will this be?"

We've been having great work days, with terrific people showing up and working in the garden. This month we planted more sedum, as part of the plan to experiment with various ground covers to compete with weeds. We also moved some thyme plants out from under the Chinese Pistachio tree, where they were struggling.

Progress on remodeling, and converting to condominiums. The three homes that will be for sale are getting all new wiring and plumbing. 3124, the one bedroom, just got a combination heater and A/C unit in the living room. I wasn't planning on putting A/C anywhere, but this was the solution to the problem of where to put the heater in that unit. The living room … Continue reading the story "Work Progress"

I am dividing the process of creating cohousing in this apartment complex into two parts:

1. I will be at the developer, maintain and improve the buildings, and sell homes to cohousing community members.
2. I am looking for two households to buy the two units that will be available soon, and spearhead the community side of the project: meals, policies, membership, meetings etc.

I am looking for two households … Continue reading the story "New Approach to Creating Cohousing for 2017"

The story of replacing some old galvanized steel water pipes with copper.

I manage this 8 unit apartment complex, built in 1940, where we are gradually creating cohousing. It's not as old as a lot of the homes around here, which were built in the 20's, and so far the pipes are (mostly) holding up. The water pressure is good, so presumably there isn't too much … Continue reading the story "Replacing pipes"