East Bay Cohousing - Berkeley/Oakland/Emeryville/SF

Eastlake Cohousing

North Oakland Cohousing (now calling itself Eastlake Cohousing, for reasons that will become clear shortly, even though there's already an East Lake Commons cohousing near Atlanta) is one of the most active core groups forming community and searching for a cohousing site in the East Bay. Scroll down for an exciting update on the history of the group, and recent developments -- yes, they have a site (again), far more affordable than the original new-build plan based on land prices at the market peak a few years ago plus high construction costs, and geared up for "fast track" (what Raines likes to call "Instant Cohousing) rapid move-in opportunities for some members.

RSVP today for the next Eastlake Cohousing potluck and info session April 10 near the site.
RSVP today for the next Eastlake Potluck and Games Night, usually at a member's home in Alameda but possibly at the Golden Gate Cohousing site (location will be sent to all who RSVP).

This group has been together, working to create cohousing in the East Bay for four years. Originally it planned to build cohousing condominiums in the classic "new-build" model on a small site near 51st and Telegraph in North Oakland, but it now plans to buy an apartment building. It has been looking at buildings with a cohousing-friendly design that already have tenants. Banks are more likely to finance the purchase of building with a steady income stream from rentals, making this approach feasible for the group in the current lending economy.

The plan is to move in as vacancies arise and continue to create community over time - gradually converting a few units to common space. New members may be current tenants or others from the community who are interested in cohousing. Come to an orientation to get the details, but current estimates are that each household will purchase a share of a corporation that will hold title to the property for around $50,000 to become an equity member, and then pay rent around $1,100 a month when they actually move in. The share prices should appreciate as the group pays down the mortgage, makes improvements, and builds community.

The group has been called North Oakland Cohousing (aka NOC) because it originally came together around a site in the Temescal district of Oakland, but it hasd been looking in Oakland, Berkeley and Emeryville, and possibly Albany and El Cerrito.

The group is planning to acquire a site, an apartment building in Oakland's Eastlake neighborhood, not far from Lake Merritt, the Parkway Theater, International Boulevard (aka East 14th Street), a flat, short bike ride from BART, with many regular and Rapid buses nearby.

We'll post more about the site here (free EBCOHO/MeetUp membership and login required to view) or you can learn more directly on the group's website, listed below.

Attending an information session is also the first step to joining NOC. If you have any questions you can contact North Oakland member Jenny via the "send message" button on her profile page.

www.north-oakland-cohousing.org

Page title	Most recent update	Last edited by
Fort Awesome	November 27, 2011 12:35 PM	Raines Cohen
Summer Sublets	May 11, 2011 4:13 PM	Raines Cohen
Doyle Street	May 5, 2011 4:34 PM	Raines Cohen
Golden Gate Cohousing	January 11, 2012 10:59 AM	Jeff Billings
Eastlake Cohousing	March 31, 2011 10:46 PM	Raines Cohen
Oakland Morehouse	June 9, 2011 10:35 AM	Oceana Lott
MultiCoho	December 27, 2010 9:22 PM	Raines Cohen
Churcha Soul	August 5, 2010 2:41 PM	Raines Cohen
Berkeley Town House	July 10, 2010 8:08 AM	Betsy Morris
Group Houses and Co-ops	December 24, 2011 12:37 PM	Raines Cohen
Established Cohousing Neighborhoods	November 28, 2011 2:51 PM	Betsy Morris
Forming Groups	November 28, 2011 6:05 AM	Betsy Morris

See all pages

Berkeley, CA

Founded Oct 22, 2003

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Imagine lively people-scaled communities dotting the San Francisco Bay Area - places co-created by their residents for raising kids, for retirement, for growing food or simply living well by sharing more. The Bay Area already has ecovillages, and cohousing neighborhoods, resident-owned housing cooperatives, and group houses -- real world places where we can live more sustainably through a more cooperative way of life. You can have both privacy and community when you know your neighbors on purpose, in day-to-day relationships based on common vision and values.

East Bay Cohousing (EBCOHO) is a Bay Area-wide MeetUp. We connect a wide variety of kindred spirits and resources. We support individuals wanting to learn more, forming groups looking to create community together, and members of existing communities. We are mostly in the East Bay and San Francisco; others are from the North and South Bay, Los Angeles, Nevada, and other parts of the US and Mexico.

There are over two dozen cohousing communities in the greater Bay Area, (more cohousing in Oakland than any other U.S. city). There are also dozens of other emerging and long-established intentional communities. EBCOHO members have recently bought or rented homes in cohousing neighborhoods and cooperatively owned apartment buildings in Berkeley, Emeryville, Oakland , Pleasant Hill, Grass Valley, Santa Rosa, and Nevada City. We have members living in Swan's Market Cohousing, Triple Point, Temescal Commons, Berkeley Cohousing, Parker Street Coop, Berkeley Town House, Addison Court Coop and established forming groups like East Lake Cohousing (formerly North Oakland Cohousing).

Extra bonus for 2012: The National Cohousing Conference is coming to town in June!

We host EBCOHO events for members, and link you to other events featuring a global network of friends and allies: pioneers in cooperative culture and sustainable communities: urban farmers, affordable housing developers, green builders, and creative visionaries in the movements for more open, user-friendly and collaborative technologies, economies, and governments. There's a global reinvention of communiies going on - both on the ground and online -- and the Bay Area is one of the world's epicenters.

EBCOHO has more events than our MeetUp-based home page can show fully, so please click on our Calendar to see more. Join for free to get involved! There's no charge for basic membership, but supporting members get discounts on some events, including socials, and workshops, cohousing books, and Cohousing Coaching.

Join us for an orientation, for social events, discussion, talks with exciting speakers, and hands-on workshops to learn the tools for developing good group relationships, and the real estate development process.. Find others who share your vision for supportive neighbors. Do it for yourself, for your family, for your parents, do it for the Earth! Make 2012 the year to deepen YOUR community connections.