Community Housing
Community-focused living environments increase human connection and improve quality of life while also serving unique groups.
Group purchasing and living in community can create a “choose your own adventure” style of resident-driven development.
Community housing has the potential to create additional opportunities for home ownership and wealth-building while creating secure, stable housing for all.
Cohousing
In a cohousing community, residents purchase separate homes or units within a larger development.
Cohousing is an increasingly popular way of living in community, as it allows residents a greater level of privacy while still offering communal benefits.
In a cohousing community, residents purchase separate homes or units within a larger development.
Cohousing is an increasingly popular way of living in community, as it allows residents a greater level of privacy while still offering communal benefits.
In a cohousing community, residents purchase separate homes or units within a larger development. All residents have access to shared amenities such as a large community kitchen, event or meeting hall, or park. Some integrate shared elements that are specific to the demographics of their community, like a workshop or tool library, childcare, or commissary kitchen.
Cohousing communities typically have regular shared meals and events to keep the community feeling connected. Developments are often townhome structures, but there are ample opportunities to use existing multifamily properties to create cohousing communities.
Local Cohousing Projects in Greater Denver:
Cooperatives
Cooperative housing refers to both a specific structure of ownership for a property as well as a way of living together that shares responsibility for day-to-day labor.
With cooperatives, ownership of the building or house typically belongs to the members as shareholders. Cooperatives are most common in single family homes, but increasingly we are seeing apartment buildings and multiple-unit lots apply cooperative housing principles. Most of these arrangements have a shared labor system and democratic governance, varying based on layout and amount of private vs. public space.
Members in cooperative housing often have shared meals and groceries, as well as regular meetings to discuss the day-to-day management of their communities.
Co-Ops in Real Life:
Queen City Cooperative
Queen City Cooperative was co-founded in 2015 by our own Sarah Wells and her partner, who had long participated in group living. His experiences, combined with Sarah’s entrepreneurial spirit, led them to buy and build their own co-op with a limited equity ownership model.
Queen City residents are creatives and educators, as well as folks who work for nonprofits and in social and/or environmental justice. Their annual Pies for Justice party, where pies are auctioned off to benefit varying organizations, is not to be missed! Residents benefit from lower-than-market-rate rents and several have gone on to buy their own homes or start new businesses. Sarah and her partner now have a child and the support of a loving village in helping to raise him. Living in community also helped the housemates ride out the pandemic storm, openly talk and process all that was happening in the outside world, and avoid the crush of loneliness.
Skyland House
(CO-OP IN PROGRESS)
Skyland House was formed by LiveWork Denver’s Bri Ergeer and her partner. The 4-bedroom home in northeast Park Hill attracts artists, changemakers, creatives, permaculturists, nonprofit professionals, and other local change leaders. While not a cooperative yet, the vision is to transition the home into a limited equity cooperative with residents.
Residents host both fundraisers for local nonprofits and events where others share their talents and skills with the greater community. The house values focus on creative empowerment as well as neighborhood engagement.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, members began a garden project where they converted the south slope of the house into a community garden space. Though the neighborhood is considered a food desert, neighbors were able to come get fresh produce. Those with extra brought their fruits and vegetables to Skyland House for quick distribution to neighbors in need.
Resources
Is community housing right for you?
