Housing and Community Development

A study of this might include some of the cohousing projects around the country that have been around for 10-20 years as many have similar characteristics to congregate housing. We designed Cobb Hill Cohousing which has been occupied since 2002 and has about 40-50 residents. Of course any such study would need to have a pretty broad base and clearly defined parameters and control groups to be meaningful.

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Jeff Schoellkopf AIA, LEED AP
JSD/ The Design Group
Warren VT
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Original Message:
Sent: 01-09-2020 10:46
From: Timothy McCorry
Subject: Green supportive housing case study

Dear colleagues,

Twenty years ago (whew!) I had the great adventure of designing a "congregate living community" in Tewksbury NJ. It was built and occupied in 2008. It was acknowledged both for its social and green building innovations. I think it would be useful to conduct a case study to measure its success. My hypothesis is that living in close relationship to nature not only helps the planet through green building but benefits the health and well being of residents. A study would, I think, have to measure its performance against similar projects. Now that it has been in operation for a decade, I think enough time has passed for such a study. This will of course take time and money. Does anyone out there know if AIA, Ford Foundation, HUD, etc. might fund such a study?

Thanks and Happy New Year,

Tim McCorry AIA, LEED

On that note, I got the following list from Grace Kim, of other potential cohousing projects that could be in such a study:

Eastern Village (Silver Springs, MD) – LEED Silver project completed by EDG Architects around 2004 or 2005. http://www.easternvillage.org/

 

EcoVillage at Ithaca. 3 communities in total (100 families combined)– built over time. Very sustainable, not just buildings, but permaculture farming is a big component. https://ecovillageithaca.org/live/neighborhoods/

https://ecovillageithaca.org/live/living-greener/

 

Sand River Cohousing (formerly ElderGrace) – LEED Silver completed 2009.

https://www.sandriver.org/

 

Capitol Hill Urban Cohousing – 9 units on 4500sf lot. Very urban/dense. No parking, rooftop farm. Rental model for economic sustainability. Used Living Building and Passive House standards. Completed in 2016.

https://capitolhillurbancohousing.org/

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Geoff Anderson AIA
Principal
Schemata Workshop
Seattle WA
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 01-11-2020 04:20
From: Jeff Schoellkopf
Subject: Green supportive housing case study

A study of this might include some of the cohousing projects around the country that have been around for 10-20 years as many have similar characteristics to congregate housing. We designed Cobb Hill Cohousing which has been occupied since 2002 and has about 40-50 residents. Of course any such study would need to have a pretty broad base and clearly defined parameters and control groups to be meaningful.

------------------------------
Jeff Schoellkopf AIA, LEED AP
JSD/ The Design Group
Warren VT

Original Message:
Sent: 01-09-2020 10:46
From: Timothy McCorry
Subject: Green supportive housing case study

Dear colleagues,

Twenty years ago (whew!) I had the great adventure of designing a "congregate living community" in Tewksbury NJ. It was built and occupied in 2008. It was acknowledged both for its social and green building innovations. I think it would be useful to conduct a case study to measure its success. My hypothesis is that living in close relationship to nature not only helps the planet through green building but benefits the health and well being of residents. A study would, I think, have to measure its performance against similar projects. Now that it has been in operation for a decade, I think enough time has passed for such a study. This will of course take time and money. Does anyone out there know if AIA, Ford Foundation, HUD, etc. might fund such a study?

Thanks and Happy New Year,

Tim McCorry AIA, LEED

Dear Geoff and Jeff,
Thanks for your replies! 
As it turns out, I am a Cornell grad and have visited Eco Village in Ithaca! 
I visited the websites for the other projects you both mentioned and found them to be very interesting.
As I am particularly focused on special needs housing and the beneficial impacts of "environmentally engaged" living, I have dug up a couple of interesting items you may want to take a look at:
The NJ Supportive Housing Guide is very informative: www.shanj.org
There is an interesting brief: "Housing & Health: An Overview of the Literature" at:
www.healthaffairs.org/do/10.1377/hpb20180313.396577/full/.
This article points to a need for further research on this subject!
Finally, Geoff, could you provide contact info for Grace Kim? She sounds like someone I should be in touch with.
Thanks again to you both for your time and effort!
Best wishes for a successful 2020!
Tim

------------------------------
Timothy McCorry AIA
Freehold NJ
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 01-13-2020 19:34
From: Geoff Anderson
Subject: Green supportive housing case study

On that note, I got the following list from Grace Kim, of other potential cohousing projects that could be in such a study:

Eastern Village (Silver Springs, MD) – LEED Silver project completed by EDG Architects around 2004 or 2005. http://www.easternvillage.org/

 

EcoVillage at Ithaca. 3 communities in total (100 families combined)– built over time. Very sustainable, not just buildings, but permaculture farming is a big component. https://ecovillageithaca.org/live/neighborhoods/

https://ecovillageithaca.org/live/living-greener/

 

Sand River Cohousing (formerly ElderGrace) – LEED Silver completed 2009.

https://www.sandriver.org/

 

Capitol Hill Urban Cohousing – 9 units on 4500sf lot. Very urban/dense. No parking, rooftop farm. Rental model for economic sustainability. Used Living Building and Passive House standards. Completed in 2016.

https://capitolhillurbancohousing.org/

------------------------------
Geoff Anderson AIA
Principal
Schemata Workshop
Seattle WA

Original Message:
Sent: 01-11-2020 04:20
From: Jeff Schoellkopf
Subject: Green supportive housing case study

A study of this might include some of the cohousing projects around the country that have been around for 10-20 years as many have similar characteristics to congregate housing. We designed Cobb Hill Cohousing which has been occupied since 2002 and has about 40-50 residents. Of course any such study would need to have a pretty broad base and clearly defined parameters and control groups to be meaningful.

------------------------------
Jeff Schoellkopf AIA, LEED AP
JSD/ The Design Group
Warren VT

Original Message:
Sent: 01-09-2020 10:46
From: Timothy McCorry
Subject: Green supportive housing case study

Dear colleagues,

Twenty years ago (whew!) I had the great adventure of designing a "congregate living community" in Tewksbury NJ. It was built and occupied in 2008. It was acknowledged both for its social and green building innovations. I think it would be useful to conduct a case study to measure its success. My hypothesis is that living in close relationship to nature not only helps the planet through green building but benefits the health and well being of residents. A study would, I think, have to measure its performance against similar projects. Now that it has been in operation for a decade, I think enough time has passed for such a study. This will of course take time and money. Does anyone out there know if AIA, Ford Foundation, HUD, etc. might fund such a study?

Thanks and Happy New Year,

Tim McCorry AIA, LEED