July 2019 | Washington Commons
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We've Begun the Architectural Design Process!
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Sunday, June 23
rd
– we began the design process; our architect-developer design team, our members and our cohousing consultant gathered together at Southside Cohousing. Thanks to Southside Cohousing for generously allowing us to use their Common House for our two-day workshop. This was particularly poignant for Katie who was involved with the original design process for Southside Cohousing.
We spent that day and much of Monday, June 24
th
hammering out the initial details of how we will use our 4
th
& G Street site. Our architects briefed us on the planning and zoning requirements and how we might address the need for parking. Our architects listened deeply to us as we listened to each other to begin to work through the many details involved at this stage of our development venture.
We broke into teams to work with blocks representing our housing units and blocks representing our common spaces. Through this exercise we worked to address the challenges of our site and at the same take advantage of its opportunities. On this warm summer day, we thought about how the evening breezes would affect us, where the sun would be, how we would come together in the common areas.
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Toward the end of the second day, our beloved consultant, Katie McCamant, talked about what will be on our agenda for our July workshop – the “Common House”. She showed lots of examples of cohousing kitchens, dining rooms, music rooms, teen rooms and all sorts of other places for people to connect – where the mail is delivered for example. We learned that the biggest question for us is, “What do we want to happen in our Common House”. Stay tuned for more on this topic.
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As we ended our two days together, we expressed our appreciation for our design team --- keeping us on track, getting questions answered – and for each other. We really are coming together to make this happen. Pretty exciting!
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What makes cohousing unique is that the members participate actively in the design process. It is a true collaboration between the members, the architects and the developer. We are a design team. At this second design workshop, we will work together to determine what we want to happen in our Common House – and thus how we want the spaces designed.
Urban Development + Partners (UD+P) of Portland Oregon is our developer. Joren Bass, of UDP, led the development team for the nationally recognized PDX Commons, an urban infill cohousing community in Portland Oregon completed in 2017. Mahlum Architects and M F Architects of Portland were selected to lead the design team. National cohousing expert Katie McCamant of CoHousing Solutions will facilitate this workshop.
We envision a multi-story project with 30-40 fully independent condominium flats with extensive community facilities including community kitchen, guest rooms, and other amenities. The design phase is expected to be finished in the fall. Anticipated project completion is 2022. We will continue to seek and add new members until all the units are committed. We expect the project to be attractive to individuals and couples working in nearby offices as well as others wanting to downsize to live in a vibrant, walkable community near the river and many community attractions.
Find out more about this process and how you can become involved by attending our site tour July 14 or our Zoom Information Call on July 17th. Or contact us and let us know your interest and questions. We’d love to have you on board for this. Contact Jae Jensen at
[email protected]
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July 14, Saturday Morning Site Tour
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10:00 a.m. at our site 4
th
& G Streets, West Sacramento
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Join us for a Saturday morning site tour to see our special location near the Sacramento River! - Envision living in this walkable, bikable vibrant community.
We want to meet you and have you meet us – and through questions, answers and discussion have you get a better idea of what it is like to be “in community”. We’ll talk about the kind of structure and community that we will be creating together.
We’ll give you an update on our recent architectural design workshop, tell you what we learned and what we expect to happen at the next workshop at the end of July.
We’ll go over the estimated costs and how to become a member and get involved. It’s a very exciting time be a part of Washington Commons.
Our neighborhood walk will be along the Sacramento River to a nearby coffee house where we will continue the discussion of what’s involved to make this happen.
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Can't Make it to a Site Event?
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Join us on Zoom
When: Wednesday July 17, 6:00PM (PST)
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We invite you to join us for a lively online video-conference meeting through Zoom. We’ll share an overview of the project along with the latest updates and include plenty of time for questions and answers. To register for the meeting, please email us at
[email protected]
- Put “Zoom Registration” in the Subject line, and we will send you a link for the meeting.
This is a great way to meet us and find out about the project from wherever you are – whether in Idaho, New Jersey or out of the country. Come join in the discussion.
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Make an Investment in Your Future, Your Health and Your Community Well Being
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Find out what you need to know to take your next step...
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Come to a site tour. Participate in a Zoom Information Call. Ask questions. Get answers.
Become an Explorer member
and dig deeper. Take this opportunity to become involved, participate in our business meetings and our committees (as a non-voting member), get to know the group and see how we work together. You’ll be given an orientation on our budget and legal documents creating a sound foundation for our work ahead. Additionally, you will receive a copy of “
Creating Cohousing”
written by our expert consultant Katie McCamant in partnership with Chuck Durrett. Explorer membership is $250. If you become a full member within 3 months the $250 will be deducted from your initial membership investment of $2,000.
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.
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We appreciate you forwarding our newsletter on to friends and family that may have an interest in what we are doing. Word of mouth is very powerful.
Thank you!
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Site Tour
Saturday July 14th, 10:00am
at 330 G Street
Learn more about our community!
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Business Meeting
(Members and Explorers Only)
Sunday July 15th
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Informational Zoom Call
Wednesday June 17th, 6:00pm PST.
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2nd Design Workshop
July 27 & 28
(Members only)
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Hope to see you at an event soon!
Anne, Maggie, Loretta, Stu & Janet, Stu & Willa,
Mary Ann & Herb, Polly, Jae, Durriyah & Badru, Lisa & Scott, Christopher, Fran, Heather, and Barbara & Terry
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