FAQ

What is cohousing? Cohousing refers to an intentional community of private homes and shared spaces where neighbors know, care for and support each other. Cohousing communities can take many forms, but in essence, they collaborate on managing community business and activities and usually share some regularly scheduled meals. For more details, see cohousing.org’s description.

Do I own and share part of the community?  In addition to owning an individual condo each of the 37 units owns an equal share in all the common spaces.

Do the units have kitchens? Yes, the units are regular apartments with all electric galley kitchens.

How much do the units cost to buy or rent? The price of units or the rent are determined by either the seller or the landlord. They compare to similar condos in the surrounding city after taking consideration the extensive common spaces. Refer to Portland Maps to see the cost of the last sale of each apartment.

What is your turnover? We do not keep such numbers but about 1/3 of the original people are still here.

What are the monthly assessments? They range from $300 to $482 a month, depending on the size of the unit. They cover water, insurance, maintenance and repair of buildings and grounds, reserve account contributions, utilities for common buildings, committee budgets, and so on. The Finance Committee creates the budget each fall with input from the community.

What about parking? Each unit with a car is assigned one parking spot. Five spaces are reserved and marked as visitor spaces. We also have an electric vehicle charging station.

How big are the units? The 37 units range from studio apartments up to 3 bedroom 2 bath units. Square footage is roughly 450 sf for the studio to about 1100 sf for the 3 bedroom 2 bath. We do not have floor plans available.

Are you a care or retirement community? We are not a retirement or care community. We take care of each other as neighbors might, primarily for acute, short term problems when they come up. If you need long term care, you may hire somebody to take care of you.

What is the age range of the residents? As of winter 2022 our youngest member is under one year old and our oldest are in their 80s. Most of our residents are in their 60s or 70s

Where do I wash my clothes? One of the ways that we share resources is to not have personal washing machines or dryers. In our laundry room and Farmhouse we have a total of four washing machines and dryers. Use of the washing machines is free. We ask for a $1 donation for dryer use to encourage people to use the clotheslines.

Where can my guests stay? We have four guest rooms in our farmhouse that are available for your friends and relatives. There is a small per night fee and you are responsible for cleaning the rooms and hosting your guests.

Are community meals offered every day? We aim to have two community meals or pot lucks per week. The cost of a meal is set by the cook, and averages about $6-7 per meal. Pot lucks are free but it is nice to bring something to contribute if you can. Likewise the meals for work parties are free for those attending the work party. There is advanced sign up on our intranet for community meals. Cooks choose the menu often using our own produce and try to offer vegetarian, dairy free and gluten free options.

Can I be on your waiting list? We do not maintain a waiting list. We currently have an email list only. You are welcome to sign up on that to get notifications of available units.

Can I have pets? Our pet policy states that you may have a maximum of four pets or a maximum of two dogs and all cats must be indoor. All pets must be on leash when they're outside on the property

I am a student doing a research paper on community life. Can you answer these questions? The basic facts are on this website. To learn more you are welcome to join a tour, work party, or observe a meeting and also meet residents who may share their experience with you.