CoHousing Group Ends Project
After a deal to take over the Carlton Mews project in Fort Greene fell through two years ago, the Brooklyn CoHousing Group set its sights on converting a mattress warehouse at 1901 8th Avenue into private apartments with communal living facilities. The Brooklyn Eagle reports the group is now abandoning its effort. An email to…
After a deal to take over the Carlton Mews project in Fort Greene fell through two years ago, the Brooklyn CoHousing Group set its sights on converting a mattress warehouse at 1901 8th Avenue into private apartments with communal living facilities. The Brooklyn Eagle reports the group is now abandoning its effort. An email to those involved explained, “Attempting to build a physical development during the worst financial crisis of the last half century simply proved too much for us. Cohousing will surely come to Brooklyn someday, but it won’t be through Brooklyn Cohousing.” The closest the group got to actualizing the project was in May 2009, when 16 households committed to studios, one-, two- and three-bedroom units that were supposed to come into the warehouse. Too bad. It was certainly an interesting idea.
After 3+ Years, Brooklyn CoHousing Abandons Effort [Brooklyn Eagle]
Mattress Company Out, CoHousing Up In the Air [Brownstoner]
More Trouble for CoHousing Group [Brownstoner]
Banks Throw Co-Housing Project a Curveball [Brownstoner]
Fort Greene Co-Housing Deal Falls Apart [Brownstoner]
It was a nice idea with a lot of nice people involved. But it was only an option for wealthy people–meaning those who could not only afford a market-rate apartment, but who could tie up a lot of cash in something that might never come to fruition. As much as the organizers liked the IDEA of assembling people of diverse means and backgrounds, the financials meant they really were talking to just a tiny sliver of people, and from among those would need to find enough folks who wanted this high degree of interaction and process. I left thinking that it was all kind of weirdly engineered.
Let me state that Rob and a number of other commenters are the reason I really don’t bother to comment any more.
It’s astounding how many “zingers” or whatever you want to call them he and a merry band seem to be able to spit out all day long. Not that the comments are that useful to begin with, but the back-an-forth between these commenters is like being exposed to your teenagers or college kids and takes away any joy you might get reading people’s ideas and opinions that might matter a bit more. I would love to find a way to block these commenters from appearing on my screen just to reduce the comment clutter from them but I guess there’s no way to do that.
Anyway, I’m very saddened that the Brooklyn Cohousing group couldn’t make a go of it. I heard about it a while ago from a girlfriend who decided to join the group (she didn’t commit all the way but was part of the process). She and her husband paid, it think it was, $100 to join.
It was a tough struggle for the group considering the timing. I really felt for them.
I was so excited when they were coming to Fort Greene and the New York Times did a slideshow on them! We toyed with the idea of joining in but when their Fort Greene project ended (I think right around the time Wall Street collapsed). Then they announced they were working out a deal to rehab that warehouse and we decided to hold off joining. I really did like the designs and ideas in the plans for the warehouse.
It all looked wonderful but we weren’t too keen on moving all the way down there right near the Prospect Expressway. I really wanted something in a more walkable location.
Hats off to everyone involved!!!!!! I met some of the people who were tabling here and there the last couple of years and they all seemed the nicest, most lovely and down-to-earth people!
I’m sure they all made some long-long term friends out of this which is a gift in an of itself! Again, I greatly admire and respect all the work, talent, intelligence, sagacity and civility put into this project!
quote:
I ate breakfast and lunch communally, Monday to Friday
you just described a homeless shelter or a school. or prison for that matter.
cafeteria :-/
*rob*
Hi bxgrl. I too think this could have been a very interesting project…for the right people, which appears to exclude rob. There was a time when this arrangement would have suited me–I have been a member of food co-ops and for a while I ate breakfast and lunch communally, Monday to Friday, and enjoyed it–but I have a different lifestyle now.
whoa there’s an actual compound there?
*rob*
The attorney for that project, Larry DiGiovanna in Bay Ridge, is terrific…very smart and good at handholding.
I went to a party at a compound near Atlantic & Nostrand that is sort of like co-housing…definitely not for me.
washing other people’s dirty underwears, forced baby sitting, and communal eating, sounds horrifying. don’t even get me started on the spouse swapping!
*rob*
Sorry it didn’t happen. Could have been a really interesting project.
Hi, g-man!
ha
*rob*