Lost Lake Cohousing is a newly forming cohousing community at 5180 Universal Place, Nanaimo on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Its a multi-generational community, welcoming members of all ages, and intentionally designed to promote interaction among neighbours. We are especially interested in welcoming young families to our community. We believe that both children and adults thrive and benefit when all ages live in community.
Members will be influential in shaping the culture of our community and experience the excitement of seeing the community being built. Our common denominator is that we all share a desire to live in a neighbourhood that fosters an active and supportive community lifestyle. We plan to share and enjoy many meals together in our common house.
Lost Lake Cohousing attracts amazing people, active in the community and genuinely caring about each other. In times of need, illness, and loss, we are there to support each other. The children establish strong bonds along with all the adults. We will enjoy group hikes to nearby Lost Lake, bike rides, outdoor potlucks, and happy hours will provide an opportunity for making music, singing, laughing and storytelling. The kids love to play in our forests and climb trees.
We are strengthened in our life together by visions and values for living in community. Expressing our visions and values guides us in the decisions we make and the time we spend together. Sustainability and reduced use of fossil fuels are priorities. We strive to live lightly on the land, sharing electric vehicles and e-bikes.
We envision building 25-30 owned residential units, 2 guest suites, covered parking, community gardens, a forest playground and a large common house with a living room, kitchen, dining room, and a large outdoor deck with expansive ocean views that take in islands like Texada, and coastal mountains beyond.
Nanaimo is a city that is small enough to be easy to get around in, yet large enough to have a theatre, symphony, university and Vancouver is only a ferry ride away making day trips a handy way to access cultural activities not available in Nanaimo.
City services and amenities are within walking and biking distance of our property. Lost Lake Park offers forest adventures, winter sports and summer recreation opportunities. Piper’s Pub is two minutes away, and six minutes from yoga studios, coffee shops, shopping malls and Costco. Frank J Ney Elementary School is a 20 minute walk, 20 minutes to Ecole Hammond Bay french immersion school and Dover Bay High School by bus.
Nanaimo’s North end is one of the newest neighbourhoods, full of newer developments and central to several amenities such as schools, shopping centers, restaurants and grocery stores that continue to draw home buyers out this way.
As the economic hub of central Vancouver Island, Nanaimo boasts both a vibrant business community and an exceptional quality of life. Nanaimo is the fastest growing community on Vancouver Island. The city is a regional centre for health services including the Nanaimo Regional General Hospital, as well as technology, retail, construction, manufacturing, education and government services. Nanaimo is a central transportation and distribution hub for Vancouver Island. Air Canada and WestJet offer direct flights to Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto from the Nanaimo Airport, an all-weather facility. Seaplanes and Helijet link downtown Nanaimo to downtown Vancouver in 20 minutes. BC Ferries provides vehicle and passenger service between Nanaimo and Vancouver as well as Richmond from two terminals located in Nanaimo. Vancouver Island University offers various disciplines. The waterfront along Nanaimo is a beautiful walk and there are lots of great restaurants, coffee shops, and clothing stores.
Lost Lake Cohousing is an active multigenerational community that shares meals together, uses sociocracy consensus decision making, cares for each other and has fun.
Getting involved with this project will eventually lead to home ownership in a cohousing community. The process for joining is to:
Ask us questions, by email and Facebook Messenger along the way.
Learn about the project by reading this web site and coming to a site tour.
Get curious about cohousing by reading cohousing.ca and check out other communities by getting a tour or reading their website.
Meet some of the members in this project by reading their bios, chatting with folks at a site tour, or another social event. (You can send us your bio and that way other folks can meet you).
These will lead you will develop a sense of whether this is something you wish to explore further.
Once you are feeling ready, the next step is to sign up for a design workshop. Paying the fee for the workshop entitles you to participate in design as a community member, and the order in which people pay for their first workshop is also the order in which they select units as a little extra bonus.
Contact us at fr*****@***************ng.ca
A few people (not elected by the broader community) make the major decisions.
Decisions proceed unless someone has a reasoned objection.
Organized in circles or domains with distributed authority.
Members maintain separate personal finances with minimal sharing.
Regular fees: Yes
Labor: Yes
Members with pre-existing debt: allowed
Common House, Garden(s), Vehicle Share, Library, Workshop, Outbuilding(s), Large Scale Kitchen, Stage or Auditorium, Fire pit, Swingsets & play areas, Gym or sports area, Internet
Within city limits with access to urban amenities and infrastructure.
Connecting people and communities through an intentional online marketplace
A residential project: people live here as their primary home.
An institution, business, network, or project that isn’t a residence (e.g. a learning center, farm, or network with no one living there full-time).
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