betsy morris research director cohousing association of the us berkeley cohousing

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Living in Cohousing -A Model for a Sustainable Planet

Affordability Strategies

Saturday, July 21

Betsy Morris

Research Director

Cohousing Association of the US

Berkeley Cohousing

Affordability Strategies2006 National Cohousing Conference

July 21-22, Chapel Hill, NC

Elizabeth W. Morris, PhDCohousing Association of the US






Overview

1. Frequently Asked Questions about Affordability

2. Strategies used in cohousing communities

5. Summary of options– Construction – Mortgage and Rent– Operating costs

4. Pros and Cons

5. Federal requirements

6. Other options

Are there grants?

8. Conclusions




Cohousing in the USOverview 1987-2006

Inspired by book by architects Katherine McCamant & Charles Durrett

Based on Danish experience from 1970s

• Resident-led; actively participate in the design and operation of their own neighborhood of homes

• Typically structured as condominium homeownership, financed by private mortgages

• Extensive and carefully designed shared facilities

• Conscious attention to fostering community relationships and effecive decision-making

• Physical design encourages social contact in common space, and respects private in individual homes

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Cohousing Overview (cont)




Cohousing Overview (cont)

35%

33%

18%

14%

urban

suburban

small town

rural




Cohousing Examples

Quayside Cohousing, Vancouver, BC

• Urban

• Mixed use; multi-family condo & rental flats

Source: Canadian cohousing network

Rosewind Cohousing, Port Townsend, WA

• Rural small town

• Lot model development

• Primarily retirees

• Rosewind.org








Typical Features

• Condominium legal structure

• Privately owned homes (attached)

• Average unit 1100 SF• Average 3000 SF

common house• 26 units• 60 residents






Who Lives in Cohousing?

Meltzer survey (1996)

• 85% college educated• 90% white • Technical and helping

Professionals dominate• Large # of self-employed and

part-time• Majority adults ages 30-50



http://www.cohousing.org/imglib/base/slideshow02.gif




What is Senior Cohousing?

• Older residents who choose to grow older in a self-managed, close-knit community

• Using universal design, each home can transition from an active lifestyle to support new needs

• Conscious planned co-care agreements with limits

• Common house offers space for residential home care aides and family visits

• Coordinate with senior services in the area






Senior Cohousing in Denmark

• Cohousing comprises 1% of total housing stock (since 1972)

• Senior cohousing (since late 1980s) is fastest growing type of cohousing

• National government support, but limited direct financing

• Spearheaded by senior quality of life organization

• Streamlined 5-step process over 24 months

• Now promoted through nonprofit and for-profit developers






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Isn’t cohousing cheaper to build than market rate cohousing?






Affordable Housing Options

• Construction Costs

• Operating Costs

• Ownership/Rental Costs

• HOA dues

• Subsidies







Energy Efficiency • Assure that electric and gas meters are installed and

that there is accountability by owner or tenant for use

• Use properly sized and designed sealed combustion boilers or furnaces and distribution systems or other low-energy use heating

• Use tankless water heaters, indirect water heaters, sealed combustion water heaters, or solar hot water heaters

• Specify compact fluorescent fixtures and educate tenants about their energy savings. Provide collection for spent bulbs to be disposed of properly.

• Specify Energy Star appliances throughout

• Avoid or minimize air-conditioning with natural ventilation or other passive cooling strategy

• Consider renewable energy sources such as geothermal or photovoltaics (or pre-wire to be added when feasible) using research grants and rebates

Source: http://www.designadvisor.org







• Limited equity homeownership

• Rentals with income caps

• Shared housing (rental)

• Cooperatively owned units

• Nonprofit land trust

• Affordable housing tax credits

• Section 8 subsidized units

• Habitat for Humanity units

• Public Housing Authority or nonprofit ownership of some units

• Units designated and subsidized for developmentally disabled tenants

• Silent second mortgage

• Internal tradeoffs among homeowners






Affordable Housing OptionsConstruction Phase

• Step 8. Conduct cost analyses early and often Why is this step important? Development is an iterative process between the aspirations and goals for a project and the realities of the available budget. Too often critical design components - components that may impact the long term viability of a project - are eliminated to save money. To make the problem worse, this "trade-off" often occurs at a point when the design is fairly far advanced; i.e., when it's too late to adjust the design and the only option is to eliminate specific components. Close attention to cost from the earliest stages of the project will help ensure that the evolving design can be built for the available budget. Some tradeoffs will be inevitable as the process unfolds, but if costs are analyzed and controlled on an ongoing basis, these tradeoffs can be minimized so as not to affect critical design components.

• www.designadvisor.org






Affordable Housing OptionsLand Trust

• Dearborn Commons (not built) - land trust






Resources on Cohousing Affordability

• http://www.designadvisor.org• Institute for Community Economics

• National Low-income Housing Coalition, Washington

• National Coop Bank• Neighborworks Institute• Habitat for Humanity• Enterprise Foundation• Fannie Mae Foundation• Banks• City or State trust

• www.building-cost.net. R.S. Means also provides some information gratis at their website http://www.rsmeans.com. Marshall & Swift's site is www.marshallswift.com. For analyses based on material and quantity "take-offs," software tools are available from these companies and from the Enterprise Foundation. Craftsman can be reached at 1-800-829-8123 or www.craftsman-book.com. R.S. Means is at 800-448-8182 or www.rsmeans.com. Marshall & Swift is at 800-452 2367 or www.marshallswift.com. The Enterprise Foundation is at 410-964- 1230 or www.enterprisefoundation.org.



http://www.building-cost.net/

http://www.rsmeans.com/



http://www.marshallswift.com/



http://www.craftsman-book.com/







http://www.enterprisefoundation.org/






Research Studies on Aging and Community

1. The Roseto Effect -- Researchers from Harvard and Yale found that the men in a close-knit community had less heart attacks.

2. Population Based Study of Social and Productive Activities as Predictors of Survival Among Elderly Americans

A coalition of Harvard, Yale and Rush Institute for Healthy Aging researchers found that social and productive activities were equally as significant as physical exercise in promoting longer, healthier lives in Americans 65 +.

3. Anticipated Support From Neighbors and Physical Functioning During Later Life A SUNY researcher has found that the expectation of neighborliness keeps older adults more functional.

4. Social Participation and Health in a Community Rich in Stock of Social Capital Finnish researchers from the Social Insurance Institution of Finland found that members of the Swedish-speaking minority living in Finland live longer, healthier lives due to more active and meaningful social lives than their Finnish counterparts.

5. Maintaining Cognitive Health in an Ageing (sic) Society Researchers from France, the U.K. and the U.S. find social engagement, intellectual stimulation and physical activity play a key role in maintaining cognitive health.

6. Participating in Social Activities Helps Preserve Cognitive Function: An Analysis of a Longitudinal, Population-Based Study of the Elderly An international group of researchers finds community social activities have even higher impact than family relations on maintaining and improving cognitive function among the elderly.

7. Lack of Social Support and Incidence of Coronary Heart Disease in Middle-Aged Swedish Men Researchers find lack of social support for men as significant as smoking as a leading indicator for coronary heart disease.

Compiled by ElderCohousing.org

http://abrahampaiss.com/resources/Roseto_Effect.pdf



http://abrahampaiss.com/resources/SocialActivityMorbidity.pdf

http://abrahampaiss.com/resources/SocialActivityMorbidity.pdf

http://abrahampaiss.com/ElderCohousing/

http://abrahampaiss.com/resources/SwedishSocialCapitol.pdf

http://abrahampaiss.com/resources/CognitiveHealth.pdf

http://abrahampaiss.com/resources/CommunityCogFunction.pdf

http://abrahampaiss.com/resources/CommunityCogFunction.pdf

http://abrahampaiss.com/resources/SwedishMenCoronary.pdf




Cohousing ResourcesKeep in Touch!

• Cohousing Association of the US - Cohousing.org – Virtual tour– Communities directory– E-zine articles– Classifieds– Coho-L email listserve– Tours, trainings, events, books – Links to professionals

• Senior Cohousing Facilitator Training, April 2006• National Cohousing Conference, North Carolina, June,

2006• The Cohousing Company - Cohousingco.org• ElderCohousing.org • AgingInCommunity.com• Fellowship for Intentional Communities - www,ic.org

– Communities Magazine– National directory of intentional communities



CoHousing Neighbors out for a stroll in Golden, CO (Photo by Julia Rainer)

www.cohousing.org

betsy morris research director cohousing association of the us berkeley cohousing

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