Sustainably minded group in Delaware County, PA is seeking other like-minded people who would be interested in living in a green cohousing community as well as land to build their community. The following is from the founder of the Harmony Green Village group. Please take a look and let me know if you have land to sell or are interested in getting in touch with the group. I'm working with the founder to identify potential properties upon which to build their community.
Create a Great Day!
Kelly Gidzinski
Keystone Property Connections, LLC
www.YourLifeMoves.com
www.PointMe2Green.com
3 -10 acres needed to construct small green-built & green-maintained community We are calling for a change in construction and zoning practices to have a more positive impact on the environmental and social well-being of humanity. We want to offer a tangible alternative to decades of suburban sprawl with ever larger houses that has left the Mid-Atlantic region with wasted land, wasted building materials, and wasted energy. We hope to attract a special property owner who may have resisted the impulse to sell previously because of prior adverse building trends, but because of shared values, may sell to us now at fair market value to help bring in a LEEDs Certified green condo community that can serve as an environmental role model throughout the region!
As soon as we obtain the land and gain zoning approval, we will begin to build a “Cohousing” Community for 20 to 35 owner-occupied households. Cohousing began as a special housing model in Denmark in the 1960s, and now exists all over the world. Cohousing community residents historically have had a great concern for the environment, as well as for the people that dwell within it, and were building “green” long before it became fashionable. The houses are usually clustered, preserving open space, while fostering community. Paved internal roads are minimal, and dwellings are built or retrofitted to use green technology, like passive solar and geothermal heating. Communities are sometimes referred to as “Ecovillages”. Buildings previously serving other purposes are often “recycled” into green Cohousing.
Cohousing communities usually are condominiums with striking differences. As in condos, every homeowner has a complete separate dwelling in which to enjoy total privacy. However, members of the community maintain the common areas themselves for fellowship and economy, only hiring outsiders for jobs no one wants to do. A Cohousing Community follows a consensus process of management by residents, starting with the design of the community itself. To further promote a sense of genuine “neighborhood”, some group prepared meals are offered in a “Common House”, (club house), for those that want to participate. An existing building on the property may well suit our needs as a Club House House”, or if large enough, the building could be converted into condo apartments.
A Cohousing Clubhouse contains many typical clubhouse amenities that also save on space needed in individuals’ houses for the same activities: a shared library, exercise room, and large work spaces, but importantly usually includes several guest bedrooms that can be booked for residents’ overnight guests. Individual homes can therefore be far smaller and more energy efficient than traditional condos. Because we want to cater to small households, we will offer nothing larger than a 2 bedroom unit. This will also save on land and building materials needed for individual homes.
We hope for at least 5 acres to allow a mixture of clustered attached townhouses, carriage houses and condo flats, but would consider converting an existing large building in a green way into condos. We want to be in Pennsylvania or Delaware near public transportation, I-95, and the Delaware border. Go to www.cohousing.org to learn about Cohousing.