Imagine a place on Capitol Hill where people come together to live in a community that supports its members. Instead of being estranged neighbors, the residents make a long-term commitment to live actively among family and friends.
Although this scenario sounds like a fairytale, it's not; a new cohousing community will be developed one block east of Cal Anderson Park.
The project is slated for completion in September 2012.
Schemata Workshop, a local group that has designed a cohousing unit in Portland and has researched the concept in more than 20 cohousing communities, will design the facility.
One of the principal architects, Grace Kim, says the notion has appealed to her for a long time.
"It's the idea of being able to grow with community [that appeals to me]," she said.
In addition to designing the space, Kim also hopes to move into the community once it is completed.
Part of what makes cohousing unique is the hands-on approach future residents will have in the design and amenities of the space.
People who apply to live in the community will take part in a process that will allow them to be fully involved in its development.
While Schemata Workshop leads the design and architecture, future residents will be able to voice their input on amenities and suggest building features.
Schemata is planning on constructing eight to12 units with two unit size options on a 4,500 square-foot plot.
Most suburban cohousing communities, which are built on multiple acres, have a large court-yard. But due to the size of Capitol Hill cohousing plot, which is comparativley smaller than other cohousing communities, the residence will have a smaller common outdoor area.
Schemata also plans to build decks facing outward on each unit.
Kim said one of the most interesting aspects of the cohousing building will be a rooftop garden. The garden will allow residents to grow their own food and engage in agricultural practices to promote sustainability.
According to Kim, the cohousing developers hope to work with Seattle Central Community College to develop a system of crop farming. The intention is to generate food for the building as well as local businesses, she said.
Schemata selected the Capitol Hill location, Kim added, because of its proximity to nearby public transport, education centers, local hospitals and restaurants.
Kim said some Seattleites don't even know their neighbors. Some, she said, can have meaningless interactions everyday with the same people.
"I developed an interest in cohousing because I thought it was a smart way to live," Kim said. "It makes life living easier and leaves more space for people to enjoy their lives, family, and friends."
Eighty-three year-old Kathy Sellars, the oldest resident of the Jackson Place Cohousing—a development located at 800 Hiawatha Place South—said living in an urban community satisfied her desire to live in a dense area.
Craig Ragland, executive director of the Cohousing Association of the United States and a resident of the Songaia cohousing community in Bothell, said he's formed strong relationships with his fellow community members.
"We forgive each other's faults or shortcomings," he said.
Both Kim and Ragland said although conflicts can arise in cohousing communities, things are often resolved because living in cohousing is seen as a long-term commitment.
Still, cohousing does not offer everyone an ideal living situation, Ragland said.
He's seen some residents move out of a cohousing development shortly after its finished.
"They don't have real world expectations," Ragland said. "It's a part of a normal world, it's not about utopian ideals."
Sellars said every decision in a cohousing community is based on consensus, which can sometimes make reaching an agreement difficult. But this system also promotes equality within the community and does not differentiate any particular leader, she added.
Each community is able to customize its lifestyles and social norms. Cohousing residents often live by agreements rather than steadfast rules, Ragland said.
Kim hopes that Schemata Workshop's development will be the first of many urban cohousing communities.
Kim and her partner, Mike Mariano, will be hosting an information session April 18 from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. at the First United Methodist Church located at 180 Denny Way.
Shannon may be reached at dicks@seattleu.edu
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