Objective 1.-- Preservation of farms and farmers
Continued operation of the certified organic dairy farm on the Allen property. Transition of the McLure property to a Community Supported Agriculture certified organic fruit and vegetable farm (see Farm Plan).
Objective 2.-- Creation of affordable housing
Includes smaller houses, shared utilities, sweat equity and creative financing strategies.
Objective 3.-- Creation of sustainable/ green development
Considerations include wind, water and solar power, waste biomass generation, gray water systems, LEEDS construction standards, micro-grid and Passive Homes.
Objective 4.-- Incorporation of Aging in Place
All facilities and management structure anticipate aging in place and incorporate Universal Design principles and, in the future, the Greenhouse model of assisted living.
We anticipate creating a cohousing community of no more than 30 households, a large common building, possibly a multi-family building and later, an assisted living facility.
Cohousing
Just what is cohousing. There are many definitions to choose from. A simple one is:
A cooperative living arrangement. In a cohousing community, people share tasks such as raising crops and childcare; make decisions by a consensus process; own their own living spaces, but share some common facilities. Examples are dining and meeting halls, wood working shop and tools, perhaps a greenhouse.
Affordability Strategies
Affordability of co-housing is a major issue for Ryegate Commons. Existing communities have utilized various ways to try and make their housing affordable and to include residents with a range of incomes.
Affordability strategies fall into two basic categories: external and internal. External strategies rely on outside sources of funding from either government or private sources. Internal strategies involve looking for ways to lower the actual cost of becoming a cohousing resident. Such internal steps would include lowering construction costs through a variety of means and closely controlling other costs associated with the actual creation of the community.
Our Membership has identified several strategies that could increase the likelihood of creating an affordable, multi-generational co-housing community.
Please see the Financing page for more information and a progress report.