Cohousing

Maryland's first cohousing community, Liberty Village, has received a development loan to begin construction of a 38-unit neighborhood in Libertytown.Woodsboro Bank is acting as the lender for the village, which will be built on eight acres. Another 15 acres will remain as open green space.The cohousing community will consist of residences clustered around a community center with facilities such as a workshop space, recreation room, television room and children's rooms.Construction on the 34 duplex units, one single-family unit, and three full-size lots will begin this month, with the first residents taking occupancy in January.

Bob Corbett had thought he'd be watching the construction of the mini-neighborhood of his dreams by now - the first co-housing condos for senior citizens in Annapolis. But his plans for the niche housing in the Eastport community have fizzled, ending more than a dozen years of effort, in what Corbett called "a real blow. " Co-housing, an idea imported from Denmark, is built around people who choose to create a community with a social compact that often includes a commitment to community responsibilities and making decisions by consensus.

SEATTLE - When Michelle Grandy needed some last-minute greens to balance a dinner, she didn't head to the grocery store. Instead, she went next door and borrowed broccoli from her neighbor, who wasn't home at the time. The part-time midwife moved into the Songaia Cohousing community near Bothell, Wash., with her husband and 3-year-old daughter when it opened in November. Since then, the benefits have been endless, said Grandy. "It's not just a cup of sugar," she said. "It's a lifestyle.

SILVER SPRING - Writing a nonrefundable check required more than a leap of faith. At first, their future home didn't even have an address. Then, when it did, it was a hideous former office building, long vacant, filled with junk and inhabited by homeless people. But the residents of what would become Eastern Village already had something that more-established, more-anonymous neighborhoods don't: a built-in community. Eastern Village is a throwback to an earlier era when everyone on the block or cul-de-sac watched out for one other.

Throughout Baltimore, there are thousands of homes that sit vacant. Homes that are in disrepair. City blocks that once were vibrant are now in disarray -- overtaken by time, damaged by neglect and acting only as shelter for social ills.vTC Pamela Silva knows the scenario all too well. She saw it on the streets of downtown Sacramento. She always was attracted to the downtown area, a place where you didn't have to worry about having a car, a place where you could walk to stores, schools, libraries.

For Merlin Porter-Borden, suburbia had lost its luster. Sprawling lots between houses seemed a metaphor for the distance between neighbors' lives, and the car only widened the gulf.So Porter-Borden set about creating a vision of small-town America where everybody knows everybody else, where neighbors share meals, chores, child-rearing.Now, seven years after he and his wife, Cathie, and other suburban and urban refugees began designing their vision of utopia -- by consensus -- construction crews are preparing to transform a 27-acre former farm in Frederick County.

Bill Press and Marie Allee live on a picturesque street in Catonsville lined with old trees and scrupulously maintained homes. They have a 4-year-old daughter, a baby on the way, two cats and a dog. But they want to be part of a community instead of a family in a house on a nice street. So, in September 1999, they began meeting with others who share their vision of creating a new type of neighborhood -- where residents have a role in its planning and interact on a regular basis by preparing meals and doing chores together.

Nearly 10 years after a Frederick County group gathered to plan a new kind of community where residents live close together and share meals and chores, the first cohousing development in Maryland is under construction.Delayed by the search for a site, the quest for residents and an obstacle course of development and zoning regulations, Liberty Village finally is rising out of a 23-acre field on the edge of Libertytown, just east of Frederick.Merlin and Cathie Porter-Borden have been waiting longer than most.

AMHERST, Mass. -- They migrated to the valley of this New England college town from suburbs and cities and rural spreads in search of a lost America, a simpler place with a small-town rhythm where neighbor depends upon neighbor.Amid tall, narrow houses clustered on a hill, in a community that feels like summer camp grown up, the 80 residents cook together, eat together, play together, share chores, govern themselves by consensus and help raise one another's children.You'll find no fences or driveways or garages.

'Foreclosure prevention' is focus of classGary Klein, executive director of the National Consumer Law Center in Boston, will conduct a "Foreclosure Prevention Training" class Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Historic Orchard Street Church, 512 Orchard St.Topics will include the foreclosure process, workouts, other loan modifications, deceptions to avoid and budget counseling. The $25 fee includes lunch and a handbook. Information: (410) 547-9091.Cohousing conference at Liberty VillageLiberty Village will be the host for the Third Annual Regional Cohousing Conference and Potluck, beginning at 1: 30 p.m. today at 12301 Liberty Road in Libertytown.

SEATTLE - When Michelle Grandy needed some last-minute greens to balance a dinner, she didn't head to the grocery store. Instead, she went next door and borrowed broccoli from her neighbor, who wasn't home at the time. The part-time midwife moved into the Songaia Cohousing community near Bothell, Wash., with her husband and 3-year-old daughter when it opened in November. Since then, the benefits have been endless, said Grandy. "It's not just a cup of sugar," she said. "It's a lifestyle.

Bill Press and Marie Allee live on a picturesque street in Catonsville lined with old trees and scrupulously maintained homes. They have a 4-year-old daughter, a baby on the way, two cats and a dog. But they want to be part of a community instead of a family in a house on a nice street. So, in September 1999, they began meeting with others who share their vision of creating a new type of neighborhood -- where residents have a role in its planning and interact on a regular basis by preparing meals and doing chores together.

In Baltimore CountyDrawbridge scheduled to reopen tomorrow over Bear CreekDUNDALK -- The Route 157-Peninsula Expressway drawbridge over Bear Creek -- which has been closed for replacement and rehabilitation for about a year -- is scheduled to be open to vehicles by noon tomorrow, state transportation officials said.The new structure of the bridge was completed this summer, but unexpected problems with support towers required additional work.The project cost about $8 million.Sudbrook Middle to provide magnet course applicationsPIKESVILLE -- Sudbrook Middle School officials will distribute applications for its magnet program in computer applications, performing arts, visual arts, Spanish and Japanese at a meeting at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

Nearly 10 years after a Frederick County group gathered to plan a new kind of community where residents live close together and share meals and chores, the first cohousing development in Maryland is under construction.Delayed by the search for a site, the quest for residents and an obstacle course of development and zoning regulations, Liberty Village finally is rising out of a 23-acre field on the edge of Libertytown, just east of Frederick.Merlin and Cathie Porter-Borden have been waiting longer than most.

Maryland's first cohousing community, Liberty Village, has received a development loan to begin construction of a 38-unit neighborhood in Libertytown.Woodsboro Bank is acting as the lender for the village, which will be built on eight acres. Another 15 acres will remain as open green space.The cohousing community will consist of residences clustered around a community center with facilities such as a workshop space, recreation room, television room and children's rooms.Construction on the 34 duplex units, one single-family unit, and three full-size lots will begin this month, with the first residents taking occupancy in January.

Laurie Precht wants to bring co-housing to Carroll County.It's a concept that begins with a group of neighbors-to-be: They plan, build and run a development of private, single-family homes with shared common areas.It's not a commune, but it does require a commitment to create and participate in a community -- an extended family of people who look out for one another, she said."People who live in co-housing enjoy the privacy of their own homes, plus the diversity of a larger community," she said.

SILVER SPRING - Writing a nonrefundable check required more than a leap of faith. At first, their future home didn't even have an address. Then, when it did, it was a hideous former office building, long vacant, filled with junk and inhabited by homeless people. But the residents of what would become Eastern Village already had something that more-established, more-anonymous neighborhoods don't: a built-in community. Eastern Village is a throwback to an earlier era when everyone on the block or cul-de-sac watched out for one other.

In Baltimore CountyDrawbridge scheduled to reopen tomorrow over Bear CreekDUNDALK -- The Route 157-Peninsula Expressway drawbridge over Bear Creek -- which has been closed for replacement and rehabilitation for about a year -- is scheduled to be open to vehicles by noon tomorrow, state transportation officials said.The new structure of the bridge was completed this summer, but unexpected problems with support towers required additional work.The project cost about $8 million.Sudbrook Middle to provide magnet course applicationsPIKESVILLE -- Sudbrook Middle School officials will distribute applications for its magnet program in computer applications, performing arts, visual arts, Spanish and Japanese at a meeting at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

Architectural Design Works Inc. has been commissioned to design a co-housing community called Saliscot, which will be built on a 100-acre farm in Harford County's White Hall community.The co-housing project, based on the premise of encouraging xTC social interaction and the sharing of resources among neighbors, will be the second in the state, joining Liberty Village in Frederick County.According to ADW, Saliscot will be consist of 14 units, a common house and a pedestrian street.The units will range in size from 800 to 1,000 square feet and will feature one to three bedrooms and one to two bathrooms.

Throughout Baltimore, there are thousands of homes that sit vacant. Homes that are in disrepair. City blocks that once were vibrant are now in disarray -- overtaken by time, damaged by neglect and acting only as shelter for social ills.vTC Pamela Silva knows the scenario all too well. She saw it on the streets of downtown Sacramento. She always was attracted to the downtown area, a place where you didn't have to worry about having a car, a place where you could walk to stores, schools, libraries.