02-21-2024 PTL - Flipbook - Page 14
14 A Special Advertising Section of Baltimore Sun Media Group | Wednesday, February 21, 2024
COMMUNITY
Cohousing comes
to Baltimore
A unique approach to
retirement living
By Margit B. Weisgal, Contributing Writer
D
epending on your age, your health and how forward thinking you are,
one concern as we get older is housing. Those of us living in multi-floor
residences have to decide whether we stay or go. If we go, where to? And
what options are available? One alternative that you might not be familiar with is
a cohousing community.
Years ago, some friends imagined
they would find some land, build small
houses so they’d have privacy, and have
a central house where they could get
together. They envisioned sharing meals,
sharing responsibilities, being company
for one another. It was a nice dream.
Now, Lorraine Faris is making that
vision come true for those interested in
this concept to join her. With Cohousing
of Greater Baltimore (www.cohousingofgreaterbaltimore.org), she is putting
together participants for a new cohousing community for 55+ active adults.
The template of cohousing – defined
as housing with common spaces and
shared facilities – has been around since
the dawn of man. Tribes or families
formed groups for mutual benefits, such
as safety, protection, community and
mutual responsibilities. Cohousing does
the same thing. Barry Shenker, author of
Intentional Communities: Ideology and
Alienation in Communal Societies, calls
them Intentional Communities, “a relatively small group of people who have
created a whole way of life for the attainment of a certain set of goals.”
“I first heard about cohousing about
30 years ago,” Faris recalls. “The idea
was always interesting to me, so to learn
more, I made it a point to visit those
communities within 30 to 60 minutes of
me. I’ve also toured the four in Madison,
Wisconsin when I attended the National
Cohousing Conference there in 2022. I
want to live in a place with friends where I
can knock on a door and say, ‘Let’s go.’”
Faris discovered that there are quite
a few cohousing communities on the
east coast. They all tend to be somewhat
similar; however, with those that are for
seniors 55 and up only, she notices different features that appeal to her and
makes notes. It will be up to those who
want to live in the one she’s working on
to consider the options.
“This design is vastly different from
what I see in most American cities,” Faris
describes. “Real estate developers have
no interest in creating a community. They
build these behemoths, houses with
thousands of square footage and never
consider the impact those constructions
will have on the environment. And given
the footprint, it will be difficult to meet a
neighbor half a mile away to borrow a
cup of sugar.
“Instead, the buyers who want to
join the community will contribute their
thoughts on what we may need and,
together, we will build the neighborhood we want. Maybe we will start a
trend: customer driven, custom designed
neighborhoods versus a stand-alone
custom designed house.”
Faris pointed out that AARP has written about cohousing, saying it responds
to problems we already see: smaller
families, more of us living alone, more
spread out. “We need new models on
how to live, a combination of autonomy while being part of a community,”
Faris states. “We’re just looking for good
neighbors. And we all do better when we
collaborate!”
The layout for a cohousing community has some basic ingredients:
fully equipped individual homes, usually
attached and environmentally friendly;
common areas for recreation; and a
common house with a luxury kitchen,
