Cohousing on the Rise in Portland

What factors, other than affordability, determine what kind of neighborhood you'll move to next, as renter or homeowner? Quality of schools, a community garden, public transit options, distance from your workplace, walking distance to stores and coffee shops, air quality and other environmental considerations?

A small, but growing number of Americans, also seek more connection to neighbors through living in cohousing communities-a type of housing where residents participate in the design and operation of their community. More than 100 such communities can be found all across the U.S., with about a half dozen in the Portland area and others in Eugene, Corvallis, Bend and Ashland.
 
Two cohousing communities are now under construction in North and Northeast Portland.

• Daybreak Cohousing which broke ground in August on North Killingsworth Street near Greeley Avenue in the Overlook neighborhood, will be Portland's most centrally located cohousing community and the most dense for its size: Thirty units are being built in a courtyard configuration on a two-thirds acre site.
• Columbia Ecovillage in the Cully neighborhood, is rehabbing 37 older apartments on a nearly four-acre site that also is used for urban farming.

 
Members of Daybreak—which is still forming and has units of various sizes still available-range in age from three months to 65 plus. Flats and townhouses will be sold as condominiums (except for a few rentals), but residents will also share use of a large Common House-a typical feature of cohousing-with amenities that include guest rooms, a kids' playroom, workshop and a large kitchen and dining room for frequent community meals. Outdoors there will be shared garden areas, a play area and a large terrace.  Green design features include passive solar orientation, radiant floor heating, energy-efficient windows, a rainwater management system, and "living walls" of climbing plants on west walls to counter summer heat. The location offers easy access to bike routes, bus routes and light rail.
 
The basic concept of cohousing, which originated in Denmark in the late 1960s, is creating an old-fashioned sense of neighborhood with individual homes and shared common areas that typically reflect environmental values. Cohousing communities exist in urban, suburban and rural locations.  Many value having a diverse, multigenerational membership-where people ascribe to the notion of "it takes a village to raise a child."
 
Anyone interested in learning about raising a family in cohousing-or just learning more about cohousing-is invited to attend a panel discussion with members of various Portland cohousing communities at the Hollywood Library in Northeast Portland on Sunday, Nov. 9, from noon to 1:45 pm. The event is open to the public and children are welcome. See the event listing for details.