Sunset Magazine Profiles Portland Co-housing Couple

In an article titled “Green in Portland,” Sunset profiles three couples, one of them living in a co-housing development. Portland is famous for its natural beauty, it’s commitment to environmental values and its sheer liveabilty.

“Clearly,this town is doing something right. And it all boils down to one simple idea: In Portland, people work together to get stuff done.”

Two of those people are Laura Ford and Josh Devine, who live in an infill co-housing community called Sabin Green

“. . . four homes on a 75- by 100-foot lot that once housed only a single two-bedroom bungalow and garage. Created by Eli Spevak, a developer specializing in affordable housing, and designed by Mark Lakeman, the homes have porches and trellises and face a central courtyard that includes built-in benches, gardens, a bike shed, and a teahouse with a living green roof. The thriving Alberta Arts District is three blocks away.

Josh and Laura’s house, which they bought last year for $143,000, is a mere 530 square feet. “The greenest thing about our home is its size,” says Josh, a math and social studies teacher at a school for special-needs kids. “It’s the perfect way for young or low-income people to get into the housing market.” The arrangement is also a handy mixture of principle and practicality. Says Laura, an assistant for the Food & Farms program at a nonprofit called Ecotrust, “Living in a tiny home really helps with our footprint, but at the same time, it’s what we could afford.”

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