A new co-housing community, McKenzie Green Commons, will be completed in the Happy Valley neighborhood on McKenzie Avenue filling the block between 15th Street and 16th Street by early summer 2013, according to Tom Anderson, a future resident.
McKenzie Green Commons is the third co-housing development in Bellingham, in which residents contribute to the design process in building a community that encourages social contact and features shared facilities. Bellingham Co-housing on Donovan Avenue was built in 2000 and includes 33 units, and Millworks Co-housing on Mill Avenue was completed in summer 2011 with eight units.
As opposed to the intergenerational concept of other co-housing communities in Bellingham, McKenzie Green Commons is intended for residents age 55 and older. Twelve separate and attached cottage-style condominiums will range from 900 to 1,800 square feet, according to the McKenzie Green Commons Vision Statement. These green-built homes will share open space, a vegetable garden, and a common house for social gatherings. Residents hope to share a common desire to reduce their expenses and environmental footprint, according to Anderson, who declined to mention his age.
“One of the appeals is that it’s less expensive,” said Anderson, explaining how sharing common facilities cuts down on personal cost. Residents in the community will have the option to use their own facilities, but the presence of a group kitchen and laundry room will encourage residents to share some of the activity, Anderson said.
“It’s nice to imagine a cooperative community,” Anderson said, “and I hope to gain neighbors that I’m comfortable going for a walk with or socializing with on a local scale.” Anderson grew up in a small community, and wants to replicate that living situation by creating an intentional community through co-housing.
The location for McKenzie Green Commons is also convenient, according to Anderson. The co-housing development will be a few blocks away from attractions in Fairhaven such as markets, the library and popular restaurants.
“The distance is very walkable, and I [will be able to] live easily without a car,” Anderson said. Vehicles will be shared among neighbors in the community to lower impact to the environment, according to Anderson.
The co-housing development will be built by Aiki Homes, a company that specializes in sustainable design and construction. Aiki Homes worked with Millworks Co-housing from design to completion.
Each condominium will be resource efficient, and will include recycled and reused materials, said Rob Straveland, Aiki Homes president. Straveland mentioned design features such as permeable concrete and custom-designed storm water systems. Straveland estimates the entire project will cost $4 to $5 million, and individual condominiums will sell for $300,000 to $400,000.
“It will be a combination of individual bank financing and individual equity,” said Straveland, explaining that residents will carry their own mortgages.
The project has moved from initial stages almost two years ago to the final site design, according to Straveland. The next step involves a marketing push to attract people to sign on to the project and purchase condos. Currently, six people intend to live in the new condominiums, and the McKenzie Green Commons community hopes to have 12 to 20 residents once the development is completed, according to Anderson.
“The site plan [of a co-housing community] is built deliberately so that residents bump into each other daily,” said Karen Sheldon, a resident of Bellingham Co-housing for the past eight years. According to Sheldon, the site plan usually includes walking paths between houses, and parking lots are built on the periphery of the community property so residents have to walk into the heart of the community to reach their front doors. Within the community, there is support and friendship among neighbors and an ability to grow with the neighborhood, Sheldon said.
“We’ve had small families grow into large families, and move to larger houses in the community,” said Sheldon, explaining how many residents have lived in multiple houses within the community.
“We switch around all the time,” said Carol Butz, another resident of Bellingham Co-housing, “it drives the poor postman nuts.”
Sheldon characterizes the co-housing community as neighbors who become family.
“It’s like Thanksgiving dinner multiplied by 33 homes.”
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