Washington Commons | January 2018 Newsletter
HAPPY NEW YEAR from WASHINGTON COMMONS!
A New Year and New Beginnings
This is the year – 2018 – the year to become part of an exciting endeavor in creating a new community -- Washington Commons! Imagine living in a place that you can easily and enjoyably walk to work, to museums, to restaurants and to be with people you enjoy. 

Come join with us to be part of building this new community – Washington Commons. If you have been thinking like we have about the importance of community and about the potential of being part of the first cohousing community in West Sacramento – now is the time to get involved.  Come to a site tour. Come to our Culture of Cohousing Series. Ask your questions. Get answers.  Become an Explorer member and dig deeper.  This is the time! 
Upcoming Events
Site Tours & Neighborhood Walk & Talks
Sat. January 13 & January 27 – 10:00 a.m.
4th & G Streets, West Sacramento
Join us to see our beautiful site and talk about the real possibility of creating the first cohousing community in West Sacramento. Our neighborhood walk will be along the Sacramento River to the Crocker Museum or a nearby coffee house where we will continue the discussion of what’s involved to make this happen. We will outline the development process, the estimated costs and how to become a member and get involved. It will be a great time to get your questions answered. See you at 4th and G!

RSVP to Janet Wilson at janetdwilson@earthlink.net .
The site where our cohousing will be located is in a seriously awesome location! Lively cultural offerings, emphasis on local food, beautiful scenery, adjacent to Sacramento River...
Creating a Culture of Cohousing: Vision & Values
Thursday, January 18th, 6-8 p.m.
Thursday evening discussion with light refreshments
RSVP for address
One of the powerful things about cohousing is that it rests on the vision and values of its members. We will explore our vision and values and how they will guide the architectural design of Washington Commons. Additionally, we will explore how having a strong foundation of vision and values will support how we make decisions and how we live together.

Our last three evening discussions have been enjoyable and informative. We have learned from each other and gotten to know each other. We invite you to come be a part of the dialogue!

RSVP to Maggie Borowiak at maggie1000@gmail.com
Creating Sustainable Housing Close to Downtown
Friday, February 2, 11:30am – 1:30pm
909 - 12th Street, (12th & I Streets)
Breathe California Conference Room
Light lunch provided
Do you work in the downtown area? Come to a noontime information meeting on February 2nd and learn how you can participate in creating the first cohousing community in West Sacramento – Washington Commons. Our location just over the Tower Bridge is within walking and bicycling distance of downtown locations including:

500 Capitol Mall         0.9 miles
Kaiser Medical Center 1.1 miles
State Capitol               1.4 miles
City Hall/CalEPA         1.5 miles
SACOG                       1.6 miles   
Imagine walking or bicycling to work each day. This is truly the way to achieve optimum health – building physical activity into your daily routine. Good for you and good for the environment!

RSVP to Anne Geraghty, ABGWalks@gmail.com or (916) 995-6629.
Ways to get involved with Washington Commons
Become an Explorer Member
Not quite convinced? Become an Explorer member and dig deeper. 

This will give you the opportunity to become involved, participate in our business meetings (as a non-voting member), get to know the group and see how we work together. You’ll be given a binder of our materials including an extensive preliminary budget and other information about the development process. Additionally, you will receive a copy of Creating Cohousing” written by our expert consultant Katie McCamant and Chuck Durrett. We will brief you on these materials. Explorer membership is $250. If you become a full member within 6 months the $250 will be deducted from your initial membership investment of $2,000.
Join Our Meetup Group
Thank you for reading this newsletter and supporting our endeavor. We are pleased with the number of subscribers and our “open rate." We are also on Facebook and Meetup . Jane Richter, one of our Explorer members, is helping us expand our reach through more effective use of social media. She speaks about the importance of having a strong Meetup group as a way to involve people quickly for upcoming events. We urge you to sign-up on Meetup. 

In the months ahead we will have additional meetings, such as gatherings at coffee houses, for you and your friends to meet us informally and find out more about Washington Commons and cohousing in general.

Here are the steps:
If you already have a Meetup account...

1.  Open Meetup
2.  If needed, select Log in (upper right corner) and enter your account information
3.  Click here for our Meetup page
4.  Select Join 
If you do not have a Meetup account...

1.  Open Meetup
2.  Select Sign up (upper right corner) and enter your account information
3.  Click here for our Meetup page
4.  Select Join 
Sacramento In the News
Lady Bird: Greta Gerwig is Sacramento's "Homecoming Queen"
The movie Lady Bird and its director, Greta Gerwig, have been in the news. Lady Bird received Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy Award at the recent Golden Globes. Called a "love letter to Sacramento," Lady Bird tells a coming of age story of a young woman growing up in Sacramento based in part on the story of Greta Gerwig who also grew up in Sacramento. Many of Sacramento’s iconic places are backdrops in the film including the Tower Bridge just a short walk from our site. 

Sunset magazine recently designated Sacramento as the TOP of its list of “20 Game-Changing Places to Live"

#1: Sacramento CA: The Heartland Embraces Its Roots
"Today, its core of old Victorians are flanked by modern lofts, and weekends see once-sparsely populated neighborhoods bumping with sidewalk cafes and hip brewpubs. The area’s traditional farmer-rancher mind-set has also made its way into the city itself...Nonprofit farms began tilling unused urban lots, while the Sacramento Urban Agriculture Coalition is working to expand the local urban-farm movement beyond the city limits and into the entire county. Farmers’ markets are open all week during peak season, and farm-to-table restaurants abound. No reason to flee to the suburbs; Sac is giving city dwellers a taste of both town and country."

More events to put on the calendar for Feburary!
Bike Tour of West Sacramento
with Chris Dougherty, City of West Sacramento
February 10th -- 10:00 a.m.
4th & C Streets
Chris Dougherty, Senior Transportation Analyst for the City of West Sacramento will lead us on bicycle around the riverfront neighborhoods of West Sacramento – Washington Neighborhood and the Bridge District. We will visit several interesting sites including the new sculpture and the Barn in the Bridge District. Chris will also tell us about changes that are coming including the new bridge and the changes and extensions to the Riverwalk. We’ll end at a place for lunch – very likely at one of the restaurants at 3 rd and C Streets at the foot of the current I Street Bridge. 
Bring your bicycle or check out one of the many bikeshare bicycles ($4/hr., see www.bikethetower.com ). 
We’ll have more information on the tour as we get closer to the date. Thanks to Washington Commons Explorer member and avid cyclist, Stu Pettygrove, for putting this together.
Cohousing 101: Creating Community & Quality of Life
February 5 – 6:00-8:00 p.m.
Sacramento Natural Food Coop – 28th & R Streets
Registration $15, $10 for Co-op Owners 
Workshop Description: Cohousing communities are safe, supportive places to live, and California is home to more than any other state. Residents own private homes within a strong community network. In this interactive workshop participants will learn the basic ingredients of cohousing in a dialogue with people currently living in cohousing and others working to create new cohousing communities in this region. Participants will come away with new information and resources. This workshop will be facilitated by Anne Geraghty, Washington Commons Cohousing of West Sacramento.

Washington Commons Business Meeting
February 5th
Open to Members and Explorers
Email Anne Geraghty for more info.
And Finally, you may have noticed...We have a new name:
"Washington Commons"
In December we decided to change our name from Washington House to Washington Commons. This better describes the community we envision: a community of private one-level condominium flats with extensive community spaces.  We will have dual advantages of privacy and community. 

Our new website address is www.washington-commons.org . Queries to the former web address will be directed automatically to the new website.  
Questions?
Want to get more involved with Washington Commons?
Email info@washington-house.org or call Anne Geraghty at (916) 995-6629