We are excited to celebrate Spokane Cohousing’s signing of a purchase and sale agreement for their 3-acre property. This group has really come together fast! They first contacted CoHousing Solutions in January of this year after coming together around the possibility of developing an infill property as cohousing. Katie went up in March to help them sort out the feasibility of the property. After meeting with the City and property owners, she developed a preliminary budget and timeline, and then presented it to the group during the course of a day-and-a-half Nitty Gritty Workshop. They also managed to fit in having Katie do a public presentation to attract more members. That was a jam-packed four days, soaking every bit of information they could out of Katie during her time there.

After the March visit and discovering the harsh realities of what it would cost to build (no one ever likes the first real budget), all but three households stepped back. Those three households were ready to push forward to see if they could get the property under contract and find others ready to make it a reality. They had a number of things in their favor: 1) a friendly property owner who held their price, but was willing to work with the group on how they were paid, 2) two dynamic professional community organizers in the founding group, and 3) a great infill site with access to the town amenities in an up-and-coming neighborhood and a nice big park nearby. As the group knew they needed to grow quickly to be able to move forward with the property, they hired CoHousing Solutions to set up their website so they could focus their efforts on talking with people, giving presentations and hosting site tours. They've also continued consulting with Katie on regular (2 per month) calls as they establish their membership process and select their professional team.

PDX Commons is sold out and members are moving in! They received their certificate of occupancy, allowing 18 of the 27 units to be cash closed on the 31st. Just 17 months years after the start of construction, their dreams are now a tangible reality. Not too long ago, PDX Commons was a vision; our cohousing friends in Portland are reminding us what we can look forward to after putting in the time and effort it takes to build a real community.

CoHousing Solutions played a major role in seeing this project come to fruition. They asked Katie McCamant to come on board in 2013 to help navigate the cohousing development world. As Lew Bowers, founding member of PDXC, says, “Turns out that the investment in Katie has helped our project save time and money in so many ways – giving us templates to start our legal documents, outlining the overall deal structure and helping to negotiate contracts with our consultants.” Katie was a key link between the members and the developer Urban Development + Partners, who have set a great precedent for the cohousing group-developer relationship.

PDX Commons is a collaborative community of supportive friends living in a walkable and connected neighborhood in Portland, OR. 

Our good friend Grace Kim recently presented on the TED stage!

You definitely don’t want to miss this awesome talk on cohousing. Click here to watch the video.

“Loneliness doesn't always stem from being alone. For architect Grace Kim, loneliness is a function of how socially connected we feel to the people around us -- and it's often the result of the homes we live in. She shares an age-old antidote to isolation: cohousing, a way of living where people choose to share space with their neighbors, get to know them, and look after them. Rethink your home and how you live in it with this eye-opening talk.”

Introduction to Senior Cohousing

If you're interested in learning more, you will want to check out Chuck's recent talk on Senior Cohousing!

We provide development consulting services to help you create your sustainable neighborhood. Our team pioneered the development of cohousing in North America, and we have helped create dozens of successful, award-winning communities. 

A full list of the services we provide can be found here.

Our newest venture involves training passionate cohousing entrepreneurs through the year-long 500 Communities Program. We'll be recruiting for the next class in early 2018, with applications due around May/June 2018.

Click for more info regarding the 500 Communities Program.