East Bay Cohousing

Dear friends,

I would like to let you know that Jack Sawyer passed away [September 18]. He was 95 years old.

After suffering a stroke six years ago, Jack lost some strength and dexterity and his activity level slowed a bit. But still he continued his work, spending every day in his office. Then, about a year ago, he injured his back, which was quite debilitating for him, and caused him largely to retreat to his apartment at Parker Street Co-op. During the past year, his body weakened considerably, he lost substantial weight, and his memory and cognition declined. In conversation, he would often take long pauses, seemingly searching for words or ideas. At other times, he would be fairly lucid. Finally, he had a fall about two weeks ago, which weakened him even more, beyond his ability to recover. 

It seems to me that Jack had been slowly leaving us for some time. Now he is free of the binds of the physical form.

Like the many people who knew him, I am grateful for his friendship and for his tireless work in support of cooperative housing, animal activism, the environment, political reform, and a myriad of other causes that were dear to him. Through his philanthropy, both individually and with the Parker Street Foundation, which he founded in 2002, he helped create affordable, communal housing opportunities for hundreds of people in the Bay Area and further afield. He has left quite a legacy.

May we all do our small part to further his example of dedication and generosity.

Warmly,

Jeffrey Billings
Parker Street Foundation

Raines says: This community tour and open house of the East Bay's biggest and most "suburban" cohousing neighborhood, Pleasant Hill cohousing, the first "new-build" classic cohousing community in the region, the largest in the East Bay, and a lovely community.

This is a rare opportunity to see the community in person rather than virtually.

Learn more about the community on their website.

This event, the last PHCH tour of the year, is part of a full day of community tours and open houses, the East Bay Cohousing Crawl, starting with a brunch at Berkeley Cohousing and including several Oakland communities.

If you need to cancel your reservation, or decide not to go, please let Pleasant Hill's volunteer tour guide know as soon as possible!

Individual Homes

There are 32 units, grouped in various configurations ranging from 2-6 homes per building. The buildings were constructed with wood framing, stucco outer walls, and corrogated metal roofing. The smallest units are 640 sq ft one-bedrooms; the largest are 1579 sq ft four-bedrooms.

Each home has its own kitchen. The homes are owned individually as condominiums, with some rentals.

Common Areas

Our 3,835 sq ft Common House contains a kitchen, dining room ("great room"), sitting room, laundry, kids room, teens/older kids room, crafts room, guest rooms, and bathrooms.

The Common House is the only building in the project that has air conditioning. However to minimize the use of air conditioning, the building also has a cooling tower with large fans that can be used in the evening to pull cooler air into the building and push hot air out.

Other common facilities include swimming pool, hot tub, play area, workshop, bike shed, organic garden, and granite boulders from original site - both decorative and used by children for climbing.

Location

We're conveniently located near Highway 680 and public transportation, with easy access to Walnut Creek, shopping, and recreation.

Pleasant Hill, population 32,000, is located 30 miles east of San Francisco, 4 miles north of the I-680/Hwy 24 interchange. Mostly a residential community with scattered retail/commercial areas, it is bounded by the cities of Walnut Creek, Lafayette, Concord, and Martinez. Pleasant Hill has recently (2000) redeveloped its downtown to create a contemporary shopping district just blocks from the site. In addition, an abundance of good restaurants and shops are within easy driving distance. The city has good recreation programs for all ages and regional walking/biking trails traverse it.

Iron Horse Trail

A walking and biking trail - the Iron Horse Trail (so named because it's on the old Southern Pacific Railroad right-of-way) - runs alongside the site and connects to the Pleasant Hill BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) station (~1 mile) and downtown Walnut Creek (~4 miles). The 24-mile trail goes north-south from Concord to Dublin and connects to several other trails that traverse the county making for great biking opportunities.

A neighborhood park is located just the other side of Fair Oaks Elementary School adjacent to the site. Briones Regional Park and Mt. Diablo State Park are located nearby providing numerous opportunities for hiking and recreation. There are several health clubs in Pleasant Hill including the YMCA.

Diablo Valley Community College is located in Pleasant Hill, and there are several city and county adult education programs in the area.

There are multiple venues nearby for movies, theater, music and other performing arts including the Dean Lesher Center for the Arts in Walnut Creek, the Willows Theater Company in Concord, and the Concord Pavillion.

There are year-round farmers markets in nearby Walnut Creek. Several community members participate in a CSA farm, Terra Firma Farms, with a weekly delivery of locally grown organic fruits and vegies made even more convenient because we are the drop site.