Winslow Cohousing is the second cohousing project to be completed in the United States starting from scratch. It is the first to be designed and developed by the owner-residents who actually moved in.
Winslow Cohousing is multi-family housing that follows the concept of compact and efficient living units, leaving as much open space as possible for natural areas, gardens, and recreation. All our homes, ranging in size from studio to four-bedroom, are self-sufficient. Each has a living room, dining room, kitchen, and bedroom area. The apartment-style homes are in the “Carriage House”. Each of these units is a flat, arranged entirely on one floor. Our three handicap-accessible units are on the first floor of this building and our studio units are on the second floor.
We have 30 homes: ten duplex buildings with 20 two-to-four bedroom homes, one apartment-style building (the "carriage house") with six flats, and one townhouse of four homes. Sizes range from a 518 square foot studio apartment to a 1500 square foot remodeled 3-bedroom home.
There are also nine garages in the basement of the carriage house which are individually leased (independently of the home) and used for second-car parking and storage.
There are about 50 adults and 20 children who live here at Winslow Cohousing. Our residents currently range in age from under 2 years to over 80 years.
The common house is a 5000-square foot building.
Our property totals just over 5 acres.
Our first general meeting was held February 11, 1989; construction began on May 10, 1991; the move in process began in earnest April 1, 1992.
Purchase prices for homes are established by the seller of the shares allocated to a unit, and depend on unit size, location, and custom amenities. To ensure that new members understand who and what we are, our membership application and orientation process must be completed before the community will consent to the transfer of shares to a new member. We have no selection process other than a desire to participate in our community.
We have general community meetings for business alternating between the second Saturday and second Sunday of most months. We make decisions by consensus and rotate meeting facilitation through the group. We are self-managed for most tasks, and work several hours a month in one of five clusters or areas: Administration, Process & Communication, Grounds, Maintenance, and Common Facilities. In addition, everyone is expected to take a turn on a rotational basis in picking up and cleaning the common house on a Saturday morning.
Since we are a cooperative housing corporation, we also have a board of trustees that meets regularly and on which every member is encouraged to take a turn. Our Board of Trustees acts to preserve the assets of the community and to represent our cooperative association in legal and contractual matters.
Community meals are offered five nights a week: Sunday through Thursday. Participation is optional and on a scheduled basis, but all who wish to eat take turns either cooking or cleaning. A typical meal costs approximately $2.25 per serving, though meals have ranged in price from under a dollar for a low-budget meal to over $7 for an elaborate feast.
We are organized as a Cooperative Corporation. Members own shares in the corporation and have a proprietary lease for a specific home. Besides a home, you also have a share in ownership of the Common House, the grounds, and other common facilities. The IRS recognizes the ownership of shares in a housing cooperative as being equivalent to ownership of a private home for the purposes of tax deductions on mortgage interest.
We are open to visitors when a tour has been specifically arranged. To protect the privacy of our residents, we also try to combine people's visits on a tour; please call Charlotte Aucutt at (206) 842-3125 or email Lori Arakaki to schedule a tour.
While we recognize that cohousing is a comparatively new concept in the United States, nd that people are naturally curious about our approach to housing, we also value the privacy of our residents. Any media access, photography, or video taping should be arranged in advance of the tour to allow for notification of our residents.
Directions from Seattle.
Members of the media who wish to visit should make special arrangements by calling Charlotte Aucutt at (206) 842-3125 or email Lori Arakaki as much in advance as possible.
There have been many articles written about Winslow Cohousing over the years, including the cover of Time magazine. One of the early ones is available on-line from the Context Institute: Winslow Cohousing: A Self Portrait. A more recent one appeared in Communities Magazine in 2000: Winslow Cohousing: The First 10 Years.
Copyright © 2001 Winslow Cohousing Group