Cohousing is catching on, and a local group would like to see it come to Cowichan Valley.
Cohousing is different from Co-op housing and is a concept that was first developed in Europe to offer ownership privileges within a close and caring community environment. Bruce Coates is one of the members of ShareHaven Cohousing who has been working with other like-minded people in the hopes of creating a cohousing community in North Cowichan. Cohousing is a strata titled community that also has some shared or common resources with its intent built on encouraging social contact versus isolation.
“With the cohousing model everybody owns their own living space,” said Coates. “If it’s a townhouse complex of 10 or 20 townhouses then each person owns their own unit outright. You share the land by a strata title and you share things like a kitchen, other shared guest accommodations, or a garden space. Just as with a strata you can get a mortgage from the bank for your unit. That’s really critical because a lot of people can’t afford to jump into these things right off the bat.”
In 2022, Amisto Developments Inc. based out of Nanaimo proposed a cohousing project to be built on a portion of the old Chemainus Elementary School property. The intent was to build a combination of townhouses and four-plex units at the site. Coates notes that Amisto had been instrumental in the inception of ShareHaven Cohousing in 2022, which currently has 12 members who all share the common vision of cohousing, and are eager to inform others in the community of their commitment to make their dream a reality. According to Coates, the municipality of North Cowichan recently sent a letter to BC Housing stating they would give them the land if they were able to come up with the money to build a 100 units of low cost, non-market housing. While nothing is set in stone, Coates is still hopeful that the Chemainus site might be a future possibility.
READ MORE: Co-housing project proposed for Chemainus
ShareHaven members were meeting regularly in person before a few of them headed abroad for the winter, but continue to meet every second Sunday though Zoom as they use webinars, mentorship, independent study, and conversations to get to know one another while defining their vision and goals for the future. They are currently refining their mission statement to include being ecologically oriented.
They are also in the process of seeking out a project manager. According to Coates both Amisto Developments and Ronaye Matthew and Margaret Critchlow based out of Sooke will help groups develop a cohousing model for a cost.
“We had a webinar with Ronaye Matthew and Margaret Critchlow which was very effective in outlining the steps we need to take to ground our project and move ahead,” said Coates. “Our community will be mutually supportive, multigenerational, and culturally diverse. We will be as environmentally responsible as possible in our building choices prioritizing eco-friendly materials, energy conservation and food security.”
While still in its infancy, the group is looking at building private homes for a range of income levels. Along with common spaces such as kitchen and dining areas, the design will include interior meeting spaces for arts and cultural activities, guest rooms, a workshop, and they will look at incorporating a library and wellness room. The group has been using Windsong — Langley’s cohousing model as an example they would like to follow.
“The Windsong model is spectacular, and a particularly good one because it is really funky indoors and has been going for a long time,” said Coates. “We are going through our list of about 40 people who have expressed an interest in cohousing. We would like to hone it down to about 10 pioneer members who are dedicated, know the concept, and what we are working towards.”
ShareHaven will look at having a social gathering in the park in the upcoming months as well as a booth set up at the Duncan Saturday Market by the end of April. Coates notes it can take anywhere from four to 10 years for a project of this magnitude to come to fruition and says the perfect situation would be finding a couple who wishes to age in place while developing cohousing on their property.
To get a feel for Sharehaven’s vision visit windsong.bc.ca. For more information and to get involved with ShareHaven email them at sharehaven2023@gmail.com.