Fairfax Cohousing Project Introductory Information

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“While attending university in Copenhagen, I walked past a certain group of houses each day. I wondered what made them different and why I enjoyed them so. Everyday I saw people talking with each other and kids running in and out of different houses. I marveled at the contrast between this group of houses and everywhere else I passed…

…When I walked by singlefamily houses, I noticed there was no life between the houses. Then I walked past an apartment complex. No life there.

Then past condos, no life. Nothing but cars and trees – virtually no people…

…I knocked on the door and asked if she could tell me something about this place. She explained that the people who built this group of houses wanted to live in a high-functioning neighborhood. They felt that a neighborhood was too important to leave to chance.” –Charles Durrett, Cohousing researcher and author

The Problem The Social Capital Index is composed of fourteen indicators, among them are: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Agree that "I spend a lot of time visiting friends"

7.

Average number of times worked on community project in last year

Agree that "Most people can be trusted" Agree that "Most people are honest" Average number of group memberships Average number of times volunteered in last year Average number of times entertained at home in last year

Virginia is ranked 33rd in US

“After work, I pick up groceries while my husband picks up the kids from childcare. Once we get home, we cook dinner, clean up, and put the kids to bed. We don’t have time for each other, let along anyone else. There’s got to be a better way.”

What is Cohousing? Conviviality comes from the Latin words for to come together and to live. It is associated with feasting, celebration, and enjoying others company. [email protected]

What is Cohousing? • Is NOT a commune • Each household is a self-sufficient private residence and chooses how much they want to participate in community activities

• It is a new approach to housing, not a new way of life • Espouses no ideology other than a shared desire for a more practical and social home environment

• Is more economical, social, adaptable, resilient, and lovable “Cohousers are simply creating consciously the community that used to occur naturally.” –Hans S. Andersen, Cohousing organizer

What is Cohousing Design? • Uses design to reestablish the advantages of traditional villages within the

context of twenty-first century life • Shared common house, green space, and walkways that promotes daily interactions • Promotes cooperation in activities like common meals, childcare, maintenance work groups, and the like

• Community doesn’t happen by accident. • Parking is situated on the edges and the common house is placed between parking and the houses

• Majority of development is pedestrian-oriented and safe for children

Cars and Parking • • • •

Cars promote isolation and insulate occupants from outside interaction Interactions with other people are friendlier and deeper on foot Streets designed for cars limit where children can safely play Cohousing designs keep cars on the edge of the community • Increased safety for children • Friendlier interaction between neighbors

• Encourages walking within the community

• Interior streets designed for pedestrians but accessible to emergency vehicles

Common House and Outdoor Space • Adapted to meet the wants of the community, with features such as:

• • • • • • • •

Big kitchen Dinning room Children’s playroom Workshops Guest rooms Home Theater Volley ball court Exercise Room

• • • • • • • •

Teen room Music room Library Swimming pool Vegetable gardens Toolshed Play grounds Park-like center courtyard

“I know I live in a community because on a Friday night it takes me 45 minutes and two beers to get from the parking lot to my front door.” –Trudeslund resident

Who is Cohousing For? • Is people friendly: children, youths, singles, couples, parents, elderly • Intergenerational and adapts to the needs of the community • 10-30 households “When the kids take off on their scooters, I call after them: come back for dinner! It’s a lot like what my mother did when I was a child.” –Nevada City Cohousing resident

“Why should we be content to improve only our weekend life? It’s our daily life that should be improved!” –Jerngarden resident in planning process

Cohousing Preserves History • Cohousing communities are interested in

passing down the histories and stories of the location from one generation to the next

• Has a living history in the same way as traditional villages cherish their legacy

• Cohousing sites are frequent hosts to tours • Both Blueberry Hill (Vienna) and Takoma

Village (DC) host multiple tours a year on the history and operation of the community

When was the last time you saw a guided tour in your neighborhood?

Cohousing Preserves Natural Beauty • Cohousing is designed for people instead

of automobiles • Is able to keep a lighter footprint on space • Is more easily able to incorporate the existing natural landscape

• Creating community gardens are common projects

• Is better able to connect children and adults to nature by integrating groundskeeping efforts among community members

Cohousing Helps the Surrounding Community • Cohousing has frequently shown that it is a benefit to its surrounding neighbors and community.

• Its common house is frequently used by other neighborhood groups looking for space

• Its group efforts towards beautification and civic projects inspires others

• Instructs younger generations how to

manage projects, self govern, and engage with local government

Cohousing Background • 120+ cohousing communities in America with 50+ being developed • First Cohousing community built in 1972 in Denmark, now more than 700 cohousing communities have been built in Denmark

• Growing in Canada, Europe, New Zealand, and Australia • Denmark results showed lower maintenance and management costs, less resident turnover, less vandalism, and just better housing in general

Cohousing Results • Communities still successful after 30+ years across generations; cohousing has survived Facebook and Twitter.

• Cohousing has had only one house foreclosed in the entire United States in the last twenty years.

• A report in 2010 (during downturn) by appraisal firm Bartholomew

Associated showed that resales in cohousing communities in Northern CA sold at 1.7 to 3.12 times the price of other townhouses and condos in the area. • When adjusted for differences in age, condition, and location cohousing homes sold at a 11 to 63 percent premium compared to their closest comparables.

Fairfax Cohousing Project Antifragility is a concept developed by Professor Nassim Nicholas Taleb, he stresses the differences between antifragile and robust/resilient: “Antifragility is beyond resilience or robustness. The resilient resists shocks and stays the same; the antifragile gets better.”

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Introduction • Founder - Chris Poch • Computer engineer with experience managing commercial real estate construction • Passionate about building communities • Enjoys building things ranging from software to arcade machines

• Founder – Seth Klein • MBA and Finance IT background • Passionate about urban design and car free developments

• Enjoys stand up paddleboarding and Brazilian jiu-jitsu

Fairfax Cohousing Project • Seeks to build a cohousing community close to Metro transit and existing mixed used

areas. • Mix of unit designs to accommodate differing needs • Each unit includes some amount of private backyard space • Final unit values comparable to the surrounding areas • 2.5 parking spaces per dwelling unit located near entrance • Paved pedestrian walkways within community; connections to existing sidewalks and bike paths • Front common house for community and private gatherings • Common outdoor space will include a mix of landscaped and hardscaped areas • Pending Member of Mid-Atlantic Cohousing (http://www.midatlanticcohousing.org) • Members include one existing cohousing community in Fairfax and two more in DC Metro area

Other Local Cohousing Communities Blueberry Hill

Takoma Village

Eastern Village

Vienna,VA

Takoma, DC

Silver Spring, MD

Form: suburban

Form: urban

Form: urban

Size: 19 houses 6.5 acres

Size: 23 townhouses, 20 flats 1.5 acres

Size: 56 condos 0.7 acres

Population: 30 adults, 20 children

Population: 65 adults, 20 children

Population: 85 adults, 15 children

Completed: 2000

Completed: 2000

Completed: 2005

Existing Local Cohousing Communities

Blueberry Hill Profile • Built on unfarmable portion of Potomac Vegetable Farms • 19 houses, 2200-2600 square feet – large by cohousing standards • Homes owned individually; common areas, common house, roads, parking owned by HOA

• 15 years later, over half of original owners still there

Blueberry Hill in Resident’s Own Words • [Blueberry Hill 14 year resident Ilene] Landon admits to feeling

ambivalent before moving in. “I’d never heard of co-housing before. . . I was overwhelmed by the concept,” she confessed. But now, she said, she’s convinced, “it was the best decision we could have made.”

• Resident Cookie Mandell said the sense of community at Blueberry Hill is greater even than in the small town where she grew up. “People are more committed . . . more responsible here,” she said.

Community Member Expectations 1. Desire to live in this cohousing community • Sold on cohousing idea and location

2. Participation in community building • Creating social capital within the group by building relationships

3. Participation in design process • Determining values, look and feel, and common features of the community

4. Ability to finance final residence

Information • Contact us at: • [email protected]

• Mid-Atlantic Cohousing (MAC), non-profit • http://www.midatlanticcohousing.org/about/

• The Cohousing Association of the United States (CohoUs), national non-profit • http://www.cohousing.org/

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