Planning Commission Agenda

[GRDadof3]

The Sept. 8th agenda for the planning commission includes a bunch of new developments with renderings (albeit smaller developments), that I haven't seen them add into the agenda before. The multi-family development going in near Belknap Park near Livingston and Newberry (Newberry Place) looks pretty interesting. There is also a commercial development on Grandville, a small multi-family development on Lafayette (funny that I was just looking at that double lot last week), and the new Maggies location on Bridge St.:

http://www.grand-rapids.mi.us/index.pl?page_id=651

http://www.grand-rapids.mi.us/meeting.pl?m...411&type=agenda

About 25 MB file

[GRDadof3]

Well whadda ya know. I found the Newberry Place website. Apparently this area's first co-housing community. I'll put the link to their website, and maybe if they monitor web-traffic, we'll get someone here to tell us about it

http://www.grandrapidscoho.org/

[zenstyle]

Thanks for posting the Newberry link, 3/Dad. I had wondered when GR might get a co-housing community. The wave of the future, folks!

[twoshort]

Thanks for posting the Newberry link, 3/Dad. I had wondered when GR might get a co-housing community. The wave of the future, folks!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Alright, I'll bite. What is co-housing?

[GRDadof3]

If you click on the link, you'll find some information and other links. Basically, it is a group of homes connected to a "common house" where residents eat meals and hang out a couple of times a week together. They are big in the Northwest, and there are a couple in Ann Arbor.

[twoshort]

If you click on the link, you'll find some information and other links.  Basically, it is a group of homes connected to a "common house" where residents eat meals and hang out a couple of times a week together.  They are big in the Northwest, and there are a couple in Ann Arbor.

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sounds like some sort of commune. I'll stick to my TND's thanks .

[bwindi25]

sounds like some sort of commune.  I'll stick to my TND's thanks  .

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As a founding member of Newberry Place, I wish this was an unusual response. The exciting thing about cohousing is that it takes the best of TND and New Urbanist design but adds a sustainability aspect of social community. The big differences is that it is a condo association that is designed, owned and managed by the people that live there. Translation: we have a club house that actually gets used.

If anyone from this forum would like a presentation on cohousing, please let us know. We believe it will be the first of many in West Michigan.

[GRDadof3]

As a founding member of Newberry Place, I wish this was an unusual response.  The exciting thing about cohousing is that it takes the best of TND and New Urbanist design but adds a sustainability aspect of social community.  The big differences is that it is a condo association that is designed, owned and managed by the people that live there.  Translation: we have a club house that actually gets used. 

If anyone from this forum would like a presentation on cohousing, please let us know.  We believe it will be the first of many in West Michigan.

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Welcome bwindi25! I was hoping to hear from a member to give us the scoop. I have heard one of the communities in Ann Arbor is not really a "hippy commune", but filled with professionals, professors & teachers, blue-collar workers, engineers, homemakers, and people of all walks.

[joeDowntown]

Socializing all the time sounds exhausting. I go home to get away from people. Tell us more bwindi. I'm interested to hear how it works!

Joe

As a founding member of Newberry Place, I wish this was an unusual response.  The exciting thing about cohousing is that it takes the best of TND and New Urbanist design but adds a sustainability aspect of social community.  The big differences is that it is a condo association that is designed, owned and managed by the people that live there.  Translation: we have a club house that actually gets used. 

If anyone from this forum would like a presentation on cohousing, please let us know.  We believe it will be the first of many in West Michigan.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

[MJLO]

sounds like a more boring version of "real world"

[bwindi25]

sounds like a more boring version of "real world"

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There's a little less drama than the "real world" and no one gets voted off the island for eating all the beans.

Cohousing is a really interesting concept but not for everyone. That being said, our group is pretty diverse and made up of thirty-somethings to empty-nesters. I got involved in cohousing because I wanted the best of living in the city with some of the best of the suburbs (schools, safety, home ownership). My wife and I didn't want to be another couple that has kids and bails for the suburbs. If GR is going to become a vibrant urban area it will need to provide a variety of housing options for households of all ages, races, incomes, etc. Cohousing is one of those options.

I just got back from Seattle looking at their community development projects. My wife's uncle is an urban planner there and toured me around many of there more mod-high density developments. Because cohousing has been around there for 12-15 years, the planners have started to pick up on the concept and integrate it into non-cohousing developments. They are also doing some very unique mixed-income housing where affordable and market rate units are side by side. (an urban growth boundary helps) I'm hoping that our project inspires some other developers to revisit what can happen and what is desirable in good urban design.

Thanks for your interest and comments about our project. If you have basic questions, please see our website www.grandrapidscoho.org Under the "documents" section there is a basic FAQ pdf that really describes the nuts and bolts of cohousing. Or feel free to post a question to this forum and I'll take a stab at it.