June 10, 2006
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FORDYCE STREET COHOUSING COMMUNITY members dig near their shared garden space at an event celebrating the start of the project. Melissa Schweisguth | For the Tidings |
A dream of COMMUNITY
By Melissa Schweisguth
Tidings Correspondent
After several previously unsuccessful attempts, cohousing is taking shape in Ashland. The Fordyce Street Cohousing Community has started its construction phase, laying the foundation for what supporters hope will become a local trend.
For Sheryl and Ben Grunde, who rent in town and have two young children, cohousing is a chance to realize a long-held dream of home ownership.
“We’re very excited to have the opportunity to live in community,” Sheryl Grunde said. “We didn’t think we could afford a house in Ashland.”
The cohousing concept originated in Denmark and can be found worldwide. It came to the United States in the 1980s, and the Cohousing Association of the U.S. now lists 186 such communities. Oregon has nine besides Fordyce, with the nearest in Corvallis and another pending in Eugene.
Like other cohousing communities, Fordyce Street members will live together in a connected, interactive way. They will share chores, property maintenance and community meals. Members will meet regularly to discuss common concerns and make decisions as a group.
The membership includes 17 adults and nine children so far, with two housing units remaining to be sold. The first owners signed on more than two years ago.
Tonya Graham, who plans to live in the Fordyce community with her children, noted that this is the first cohousing project to succeed in Ashland after three previous ventures started and disbanded.
Graham said she’s looking forward to the opportunity to “live with all ages, share resources and live sustainably.” She is preparing to sell her house, trading a traditional single-family lifestyle for what she expects to be a closer-knit community.
At a Memorial weekend groundbreaking event, spirits were high despite gathering rain clouds. Mingtong Gu of the Chi Healing Center offered a blessing, telling the group “a sunny day with water falling from the heavens is a blessed sign.”
Michael Dawkins, a planning commissioner who voted in favor of Fordyce Street Cohousing, told those assembled, “Persevere. This is the future.”
“Our community is richer through this,” added City Councilor Kate Jackson. “Government should nourish these community-based solutions.” She praised the way the project addresses some of Ashland’s major needs, including conservation, family-friendly environments and affordability.
Though the cohousing concept seems to have wide appeal, the project’s location proved controversial during the permit application process.
The Planning Commission turned the development down in late 2004 on a 7-2 vote, after neighbors testified against the required zone change. Opponents said the project had too many units and would bring noise and traffic to their single-family neighborhood.
Project designer Melanie Mindlin, who purchased the 1-1/3 acre lot on Fordyce Street four years ago, appealed the matter to the City Council. In the end, the council voted 4-2 to let the cohousing effort go forward.
In about a year, the site will hold 13 townhouse-style homes with features such as a common house, a 3,400-square-foot community garden, shade gardens and plaza space. (Two of the housing units are designated affordable by the city.)
All the homes will meet Ashland’s Earth Advantage standards by using passive solar design, radiant heat, extra insulation and other conservation-minded measures. Half the property will have permeable surfaces that allow rainwater to soak into the ground, reducing the amount of runoff that is created.
Though residents will not be building their own homes, they agreed on a unified design using the same materials. This method, called “production construction,” has helped control housing costs. The two unsold units, each with three bedrooms, are priced at $307,000.
