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Capitol Hill Urban CoHousing

  • Communities

About the Communities

  • Established
  • Home-sharing
  • Urban

Founding year

  • 2010

What we do

We are a very diverse community in an incredibly dense neighborhood in Seattle – Capitol Hill. We have all of our 9 households with children between ages 5 and 19 years old and our adults range from mid-30’s to mid-70’s.
We have 9 units on 4500sf lot (smaller than the typical Seattle single family lot). Our property is located 3 blocks from light rail and has great bus access. We built with high Built-Green and LEED guidelines achieving as many high-performance sustainability metrics for energy and water usage as much as was financially feasible both now and planning for future upgrades.
We broke ground in late October, 2014 and took occupancy in June, 2016. Please note we are a unique hybrid model. All members paid a minimal joining fee of $30,000 to join our LLC. The members built the apartment building and we are self-managed. We pay market rate rents which will be kept artificially as stable as possible, rather than increasing with the market. This is intended to entice longevity. In 2024 we had our first household turn-over since move in. It’s unlikely we’ll have any openings but to be notified please join our mailing list on our website. That is where any short-term rentals or long-term residencies would be announced.

Our Mission

We are an urban community bridging generations, aiming to be good neighbors on Capitol Hill. We value sharing and seek health, both for ourselves and our planet. Our Values include:
* Sharing
* Environmental Awareness
* Intergenerational
* Neighborhood Partnership
* Healthy Individuals
* Healthy Community

  • Purpose
  • Home-sharing
  • Community type
  • Cohousing
  • Sustainability practices
  • Permaculture design

Commemorative dates

  • January 1, 2010
  • Started planning
  • January 1, 2016
  • Started living together

Gallery

  • 17 Total members
  • Not open to new members
  • Open to visitors
Total
22

How to join

We use a self-selecting process to see if our community is a good fit for you and vice versa.

    1. You would start by completing an online questionnaire to help us to get to know you.
    1. We’ll create an opportunity for you to tour and ask questions.
    1. After that we’ll invite you to attend some community meals and conversations to get to know us better.
    1. Once you’re sure and we’re sure, we’ll ask you to provide 3 references and to complete an application for a background check. Then you’ll sign the Operating Agreement and pay your Initial Capital Contribution. Eventually, we mutually agree on a move-in timeline & you sign your lease.

Basic expectations or agreements for members

There are typically monthly tours lead by our commercial tenant and architect Schemata Workshop. These are usually on Saturday mornings but be sure to check our website’s tour page for info and link to register. https://capitolhillurbancohousing.org/tours/

Primary decision-making authority

  • All Community Members Together

The whole membership decides collectively.

Decision-making process

  • Full Consensus

Everyone must agree before moving forward.

Governance structure

  • Collaborative/Horizontal

Power and responsibility are shared relatively equally among members.

Economic model

  • Independent Finances

Members maintain separate personal finances with minimal sharing.

Economic scenarios for this community

  • There is a one-time fee, investment, or share purchase to join the community separate from accessing housing
  • Members need to pay fees, dues, or similar to live there on a per month or per year basis
  • There is a labor obligation
  • Members typically need to have their own job or other personal source of income to cover their expenses while living in the community?

Additional economic information

Join fee: Yes
Regular fees: Yes
Labor: Encouraged or suggested
originally $30,000 buys into LLC. we are a rental community…this amount is likely to be increased in the future
originally $50/month membership plus market-rate rent monthly…currently we ask folks to contribute as they can
Since we are very small everyone must actively participate in the work of the community. We do not set requirements or track hours.

Shared resources and amenities that are accessible to everyone in the community

Common House, Garden(s), Large Scale Kitchen, Internet

Frequency of communal meals

  • 2-5 times per week

Significant food acquisition practices

  • Locally sourced

Dietary type

  • Vegetarian Only

Dietary restriction

  • People can cook and eat what they want in their own residence

Substance use culture

  • Substance use appears in public spaces but no pressure
  • Substance use is prohibited in the community
  • Religions
  • Christian
  • Buddhist
  • Jewish

Gender composition

  • Roughly balanced (no group over 60%)

Age demographics

  • Family-focused (many children and parents)

Property status

  • Privately owned

Property owner

  • By several individuals through an LLC or a Tenancy In Common agreement

Setting

  • Urban

Within city limits with access to urban amenities and infrastructure.

Community type

  • Cohousing

    Private homes with shared common facilities, designed for neighborly
    interaction while maintaining independence.

Sustainability approach

  • Permaculture design

Land practices in our community

  • The community practices permaculture

Self-produced energy

  • Up to 33%

Energy sources used

  • Photovoltaic Solar

Self-produced food

  • Up to 33%

Local, organic, or fair trade food

  • Up to 33%

Food systems

  • Community garden
  • Land area size
    0.1 acres

Guest Book

Written reviews are available for plus members. Click here to upgrade.

Location

  • Washington, United States

Needs and Offers

Offer
  • Communities with Openings
2 months ago

Community House in SE Portland Seeks Membership!

Ellis Street Community House is seeking kind, present, and engaged new housemates with experience in community living. We are currently 3 adults, one baby, and two cats living in a 6 bedroom, 3 bath house on ¼ acre of land near Powell Butte nature park and the Springwater Corridor bike trail. We expect to be joined by a shy and sweet 2 year old in the next few months. For us, living in community is a collaborative process, one that helps improve our quality of life. We’re able to eat great food, keep the place clean, maintain a garden, and hold a space large enough to host guests and events by working together. We have an extensive community library and art/craft material collection, as well as a great tea selection, stocked pantry, and functional kitchens ready for feast-making, canning, and fermentation dreams. We make kombucha, ginger beer, sauerkraut, bone broth, natto, and apple/pear butter on a rotating basis. With two fridges and two deep freezers we can save blueberries and blackberries we harvested from close by and get meat directly from farmers. We hold potlucks and other events like bonfires and game nights about once a month, and make a house dinner together weekly. We maintain a home free from artificial fragrances and voice-activated technology. The larger downstairs room is available for $740 per month. The smaller downstairs room will be available for $600 per month starting on September 1rst. The main kitchen is on the second floor. We also have private outdoor space for someone sleeping in their home on wheels available for $200-500 per month depending on the size of the vehicle. This would include membership in the community and use of the common spaces. Guest space is available for friends and relatives of residents – upstairs there is an office/guest room for longer visits, and the couches/pads in the common areas are available for shorter stays. The home has heating and cooling through an efficient heat pump, and we ju

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