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Eco-Housing
coming to Silver Spring
BY
LISA MACKIE
Don
Tucker has a vision. An architect and developer with the Eco
Housing Corporation, Tucker shares his thoughts with prospective
cohousers on tours of an office building on Eastern Avenue
in Silver Spring, which has been vacant for about six years.
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A
drawing of the proposed Eastern Village
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In its
current condition, it is hard to imagine the four-story, concrete
structure housing a residential community. Old cars are parked
in the courtyard and the interior is strewn with broken glass,
debris, and abandoned office chairs. However, this will be
the site of Eastern Village, a new cohousing development,
Tucker says.
The building
will be transformed through the input of the community of
people who will inhabit the space, complete with roof garden
and a landscaped courtyard, he said.
"As
cohousers, you're going to be part of the [planning] process,"
he emphasized.
The Eco
Housing Corporation, the development company that built Takoma
Village, proposes to acquire the building, gut the entire
structure, remove duct work and pipes, and create 50 to 60
"loft-style" condominium units by June 2004.
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Co-housing
partners hope to rescue this building from its current
blighted appearance.
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Members
act as contract purchasers until the building is completed.
About 28 commitments from cohousers have already been made,
with an initial deposit to secure priority in selecting units.
Members meet regularly and have begun suggesting uses for
common space and discussing their needs with the architect.
Early
membership also secures lower pricing. Ann Zabaldo, Cohousing
Coordinator for Eco Housing and a resident of Takoma Village,
said that with this process, "long before moving in,
[residents] are a community."
The current
plans for the renovation of the building include: a landscaped
courtyard with trellis facade; a green roof garden to retain
run off storm water and improved storm water management; a
glass atrium which will serve as a passive solar heat collector;
improved insulation; and a common house.
The configuration
of the units is still under discussion, but there are physical
constraints, such as support pillars spaced at varying distances,
which mean that the smallest units will be little more than
14 feet wide. The condominiums will range from 664 square
feet to 2175 square feet. Some will have a loft space, opening
the ceiling for the main floor and creating additional rooms,
while all ground floor units will incur an additional cost
because of the extant higher ceilings.
Photos: Lisa Mackie
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One wing
of the building will also have some business uses. Priority
will be given to artists for studio space, and buyers of residential
units will have a preference for leasing the studios. This
portion of the building will remain under management of the
development company. Tucker said parking will be available
in a county parking garage, which will be accessible through
improved pedestrian walkways.
The concept
of cohousing origiated in Denmark. The traits that distinguish
cohousing from other intentional communities or from conventional
condominiums are the involvement of residents in the planning
process and the existence of shared common space alongside
private units.
The Cohousing
Network web site describes cohousing as "a type of collaborative
housing that attempts to overcome the alienation of modern
subdivisions in which no-one knows their neighbors, and there
is no sense of community. It is characterized by private dwellings
with their own kitchen, living-dining room, etc., but also
extensive common facilitiesÉUsually, cohousing communities
are designed and managed by the residents."
The developer-driven
model of cohousing is a relatively recent occurrence, according
to Zabaldo. A few developers have started finding sites first
and forming groups after, because finding the site is "the
most difficult part of the process."
On average,
communities that have found their own sites took 5 to 12 years
for completion. Now, she noted, "developers are taking
a mainstream role."
The choice
to construct a cohousing community in Silver Spring was a
"no-brainer," said Zabaldo, since Silver Spring
is undergoing a huge revitalization, and cohousing is often
used in "urban edge development, [which] acts as a powerful
anchor and magnet."
Revitalization
or restoration isn't enough by itself, however. Zabaldo believes
that the key to the success of projects such as Eastern Village
is that community is inherent.
"Just
to re-do bricks and mortar doesn't create stability,"
she said.
The advantage
for developers is that residents are involved early in the
process and take the guesswork out of planning. Zabaldo estimated
that for a conventional multi-family development, profit is
in the last two or three units, which makes the "guaranteed
sell-through" of a cohousing community very attractive.
It can also be satisfying for a developer to know that the
community will be "around for a long time."
One Eastern
Village member, who prefers not to be identified, said that
she lived previously in cohousing. When she and her family
relocated to the DC area, they were pleased to learn about
the new development in Silver Spring. She said that through
her experience with cohousing, she learned "communication
skills and consensusÉit was good for my parenting, my marriage,
and my job."
She noted
that for the current community that is forming, "food
tends to be a unifying force."
The member
said that one common concern of cohousing communities is attracting
a diverse body of people, but Eastern Village's current membership
already consists of a group of people representing diverse
age, race, and ability.
If there
is a disadvantage to cohousing, Zabaldo said life can "be
a bit of a fishbowl" at Takoma Village. But the advantages
of cohousing outweigh all for her.
"I
can't even imagine not living here," she said. "That
would be hell."
The Eco
Housing Corporation is also proposing a cohousing development
on the site of the National Park Seminary at Forest Glen,
a property currently owned by the army and being considered
for preservation and revitalization.
For more
information:
Eastern
Village http://www.easternvillage.org
Ecohousing
http://www.ecohousing.net
Cohousing
Network http://www.cohousing.org
Intentional
Communities http://www.ic.org
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