Insight from 500 Communities Affiliate Lew Bowers

Lew Bowers and his wife were the burning souls of PDX Commons in Portland, OR. PDX Commons is a 4-story, urban, senior cohousing community with 27 units. The couple got to know Katie McCamant when they hired her as a development consultant for their fledgling community. Back then, the 500 Communities Program was just an idea. Lew experienced the benefits of cohousing firsthand, so he joined the 500 Communities Program in 2018 to help other people enrich their lives with community.

Before he retired, Lew was the City of Eugene Community Development Planner for 12 years, then the Central City Division Manager of Portland for another 12 years. Concurrently, he owned and managed multi-family real estate for his company, Bowers & Bowers Development LLC. Now that Lew has "retired," he uses the LLC to consult cohousing projects. Lew primarily works on projects with Urban Development + Partners and CoHousing Solutions. He even connected UD+P with their first cohousing project, PDX Commons! Lew spent his career trying to make urban areas more livable. His pursuits simply evolved from traditional housing into cohousing with time.

In the cohousing realm, Lew primarily works on membership and governing issues. Now that Adams Creek Cohousing is under construction, he's wrapped up his work their group. Currently, Lew is working with Our Home, a neurodiverse community, and the Specially Abled group, which involves families with adult children on the autism spectrum. We know how it looks, but Lew does not necessarily specialize in niche cohousing, he just picks projects he believes in. "I do it for the joy of working with other groups," Lew said.

Despite all the training and lessons, Lew continues to learn the most from other 500 Communities Program Affiliates. The monthly meetings Katie facilitates offer a community of cohousing professionals who can lean on each other when projects get stressful, or help each other celebrate the little miracles no one else appreciates. "I didn't think of it as joining a community of budding cohousing professionals, but really that's what it's been," Lew said. Lessons about marketing came from Shelly Parks, changing your contractor just before starting a project from Danny Milman and environmental issues that can come up with a site from John Caye. Every hurdle seems impossible at the time, but with enough patience and support, they can be overcome.

After a year on the CohoUS Board of Directors, Lew often begs the question: "Why don't we have more cohousing communities?" Sometimes it's the daunting bureaucratic red tape, but usually it's a simple lack of awareness. Waitlists are always long and difficult to break through, so people often choose to build their own cohousing. That's why we need more cohousing professionals! None of us can do it alone.

Check out the 500 Communities Program or Affiliates like Lew on our website!

Under construction at last

In West Sacramento, CA, our client Washington Commons has officially begun construction! Ecstatic to move forward, Member Fran (pictured) helped out the salvage crew.

Whenever you build something, the land must be combed over first. Luckily, she only found bottles! As you can see, her custom-made hard hat served to collect instead of protect.

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Save the date: National Cohousing Conference

The Cohousing Association has announced the next In-person National Cohousing Conference will be August 25-28, 2022 in Madison WI. These conferences offer a wealth of information and connections for anyone interested in cohousing and any stage of cohousing (seeking, forming, and long-time living in cohousers). We look forward to seeing lots of new and old friends there. Katie will offer a workshop, with more details below!

The Cohousing Development Process:

Lessons from 30 Years in the Trenches

Friday, August 26

8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Katie McCamant, coauthor of Creating Cohousing: Building Sustainable Communities, will host a full-day intensive at the National Cohousing Conference in Madison. Learn firsthand from the woman who brought cohousing to North America. Katie spent decades as a cohousing architect, developer and resident. Her pre-conference intensive is useful to both professionals and forming communities alike. The workshop will introduce participants to the roles and responsibilities of different players in the development process. Katie will also dive into development timelines, which consultants you and need when, financing and how community members can best support the development process. Build on the lessons learned from Katie’s 35 years of developing cohousing communities. 

Half-Day Intensives from 500 Communities Affiliate Shelly Parks, of CoVision Consulting:

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 communities.

Our newest venture involves training passionate cohousing entrepreneurs through the year-long 500 Communities Program. The next cycle will begin in 2024!