Multi-story residential building with multiple windows and balconies.

Common Place Cooperative, Inc.

  • Communities

About the Communities

  • Established
  • Home-sharing
  • Urban

Founding year

  • 1972

What we do

We are a cooperative housing community with 8 households in a 3-story walk-up near Porter Square, Cambridge. Our urban location is ideal, convenient to shopping, good public schools, universities, public transportation, and bike lanes into Boston.
We come to this community as individuals with our own aspirations, values, and experiences. At the same time we recognize that the art of successful life in a cooperative community is dependent upon building healthy capacities for compromise. We seek to live in community, learning from each other, respecting our differences and resolving the inevitable conflicts that will arise from these differences. Kindness, compassion, and respect are the foundation for our interactions. We are committed to engaging in honest, direct, and respectful communication with each other.
Many of our members have been here for our history, since 1973, with new members bringing energy and commitment along the way. We’ve raised children together and now most of us are retired, enjoying grandchildren, family visits, travel and social occasions, as well as the cultural life of the city.
We share celebrations and support one another through losses. We gather for community events in our common room as well as our beautiful yard and gardens. We have off-street parking for one car per household. Many people stop on their walk to the “T” to smell our roses or choose a book from the Little Free Library.
Members own the building and land cooperatively, each household owning shares based on square footage. Shareholders rotate terms serving on the Board of Directors. We work together on committees and projects, including planning, maintenance, gardening, and social events. In our monthly meetings, we share perspectives and concerns, and make decisions by consensus.

Our Mission

We are a cooperative, intentional, mutually supportive community, committed to peace, equality, inclusiveness, social and environmental justice.

  • Purpose
  • Home-sharing
  • Community type
  • Cohousing
  • Activities
  • Property management

Commemorative dates

  • January 1, 1972
  • Started planning
  • January 1, 1973
  • Started living together
  • 8 Total members
  • Not open to new members
  • Open to visitors
Total
18

How to join

We have a written application, reference and credit check process and interview. There is an opportunity to meet with the entire community.

Basic expectations or agreements for members

Please send an email so that a visit can be arranged.

Primary decision-making authority

  • Small Leadership Group

A few people (not elected by the broader community) make the major decisions.

Decision-making process

  • Modified Consensus

Generally seek agreement, but have backup methods when consensus isn’t reached.

Governance structure

  • Collaborative/Horizontal

Power and responsibility are shared relatively equally among members.

Conflict resolution approach

The Board of Directors serve two-year staggered terms. President, Clerk and Treasurer are elected annually. Leadership is rotated among the entire community. Ongoing committees include Building and Garden. Other ad hoc committees form as the need arises.

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: Yes
In addition to monthly meetings, members are expected to participate in weekly tasks, two 1/2 day work days per year, committee work and other tasks that keep the community well maintained and functioning.

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

Common House, Garden(s), Library, Workshop

Frequency of communal meals

  • Rarely

Significant food acquisition practices

  • Locally sourced

Dietary restriction

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

Community activities and engagement

  • Neighborhood, Community Housing, or Homeowner's Association

Substance use culture

  • Substance use appears in public spaces but no pressure
  • Substance use is prohibited in the community

Gender composition

  • Majority cis (over 60%)

Age demographics

  • Mixed adults (few or no children)

Property status

  • Privately owned

Property owner

  • By a Land Trust, Home Owners Association, or corporation

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.

Self-produced energy

  • 33 - 66%

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
    0.5 acres

Guest Book

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

Location

  • Massachusetts, United States

Common Place Cooperative, Inc.

Needs and Offers

Connecting people and communities through an intentional online marketplace

  • Promoted
Offer
  • Real Estate For Sale
1 week ago

Beautiful 3+ Bed, 2.5 Bath Townhome in Established West Emerald CoHousing, Seattle

A rare home is available at West Emerald Cohousing, an established all-ages intentional community in West Seattle. For those considering a move to the Pacific Northwest—or hoping to join a mature community rather than one still in the forming stages—West Emerald offers decades of community life, beautiful gardens, shared resources and a peaceful setting within the city in a convenient location since 1999. This unit has a unique floor plan that is ideal for co-buying, co-living, or for one household. The home itself offers a flexible 3+ bedroom, 2.5 bath layout: Garden-level room with a separate exterior entrance and half bath—ideal for a home office, studio, guest space or client-facing business Main-level bedroom and full bath, laundry, making one-level living possible Open great room with large windows overlooking gardens filled with birdsong Well-designed kitchen with generous storage and pantry Two additional light-filled spacious bedrooms and a full bath upstairs Thoughtfully maintained and updated Located at the end of a common pathway for added privacy and garden views, Just feet from parking, which is out of view West Emerald community amenities include: Common House with gathering and activity spaces Community meals and events Mature gardens and shared outdoor spaces Workshop/maker spaces and bike barn Exercise room EV charging opportunity Excellent Metro access to Downtown Seattle just minutes away Nestled into a dell, it’s Seattle’s best-kept secret South Seattle College and lifelong learning, NW Wine Academy, the Seattle Chinese Garden are nearby, with easy access to Alki Beach, Lincoln Park, magnet schools, ferries, and the shops and restaurants of the West Seattle Junction. 6000 17th Ave SW, Seattle, WA Is a wonderful opportunity to have your own comfortable, private home while becoming part of a vibrant and well-established Seattle all-ages cohousing community. For more information contact the friendly Realtor at 206-579-9066, or at ki**********@**********te.com who will be happy to meet you there or do a facetime tour.
  • Promoted
Offer
  • Communities with Openings
3 months ago

Do you feel called to help co-create a small, newly forming eco-spiritual community?

Old structures are crumbling. New ways of living are calling. We are answering that call. Wild Grace is an eco-spiritual community located in the Sierra foothills 30 minutes from Grass Valley, California. We recently completed new homes for those who feel called to our vision. Currently there are four of us living on this sacred 80 acres of land although we are a hub for an expanded neighborhood community. Many join us weekly for potlucks, expressive dance, Qi Gong, monthly musical gatherings, and seasonal celebrations in our temple, as well as tending to our orchard. We are excited to welcome others to join us on the land who are dedicating their lives to spiritual growth and ready to live in a more focused and intimate heart-centered lifestyle. Might that be you or someone you know? The fundamentals are simple. Spirit. We listen personally and collectively together most mornings, usually starting with a musical offering, a prayer, or a short reading, followed by about 40 minutes of what we call “sacred silence.” Heart Circles. About once a week we gather to share and listen. We are informed by authentic and compassionate communication practices. Nature. The land itself—an 80-acre oasis of field and forest perched above the wild and scenic South Yuba River—calls for our stewardship in the gardens, orchard, greenhouses, and general care. In turn, nature feeds us abundantly, both literally and spiritually. Interbeing. We join with others to share inspiration and connection as we host monthly gatherings of song, story and prayer that draws from the larger community in addition to other events we share with our closer neighbors. As we attend to these fundamentals, Grace flows to and through us—often in “Wild” or unexpected ways. Grace catalyzes through us, but is not something we possess. Because we all are connected, we feel that Grace actively transforms n
Offer
Offer
  • Real Estate For Sale
3 weeks ago

Co-housing Unit For Sale in Portland Oregon

Light-filled 976 sq ft, 3-bedroom, 1-bath end unit in Columbia Ecovillage, Portland’sestablished cohousing community in the Cully neighborhood. With windows onthree sides, this ground-floor home gets natural light all day, even onPortland’s grey ones. The open living and dining area has warm hardwood floors and flows into akitchen with solid wood cabinets and granite counters. The dining roomwindows look straight into a native vine maple — a wall of green from springthrough fall. There’s good storagein the unit, plus an extra storage space in the community storage building.A ductless mini-split provides efficient heating and air conditioning, andthe plumbing was fully replaced in 2026. The primary bedroom has a full-width closet behind a sliding barn door; thesecond bedroom’s closet sits behind a pair of French doors. The thirdbedroom has no closet, which makes it a flexible room — guest room, office,or playroom. Step out the sliding glass door onto your own covered patio, which opens onto the community grounds: organic gardens, personal garden plots,greenhouses, a grape arbor, a bamboo grove, native plantings throughout, andtrees everywhere — including a truly massive old black walnut. The orchard alone is a reason to live here — to name a few:apples, pears, plums, figs, mulberries, chestnuts, walnuts, grapes,blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries, in several varieties each. A75,000-gallon rainwater catchment system keeps it all watered through thesummer. Kids have a playhouse, sandbox, small soccer field, a favorite climbingtree, and a parking loop where bikes can circle but cars can’t; adults havea workshop, garden shed, fire pit, quiet space and big community porches. The common hall is the heart of the village: a commercial kitchen anyresident can use, a kids’ play area, pool table and ping pong, and asoapstone stove that burns every winter evening. Residents can reserve it forevents for almost nothing. The historic farmhouse has guest rooms owners canbook for visiting family (about 30 nights a year). Shared laundry rooms(three washers and dryers) come with indoor drying racks and outdoorclotheslines, and there’s a craft room and a trade room where things you nolonger need find a new home next door. Potlucks, communitymeals, work parties, and acres of safe space for kids to roam makethis a rare chance to own a home and a neighborhood at the same time. Built in 1973 and fully remodeled in 2008–09 for energy efficiency and healthy indoor air — metal roof, HardiePlank siding, and standard community-built finishes throughout. Nothing to update, nothing deferred. The $522 monthly HOA coverswater, sewer, and garbage, plus the roof, siding, exterior paint, and allstructural maintenance — and it’s what pays for the grounds, the common hall,and everything else described above. And it’s close in: Cully’s cafés andparks are a short walk or bike ride away, the rest of Portland’s food,music, and neighborhoods are minutes beyond that, and the commute downtownor to the airport is easy by car, bus, or bike – 3.7-acre grounds with organic gardens, personal plots, greenhouses, native plantings, and mature trees (huge black walnut)- Orchard: apples, pears, plums, figs, mulberries, chestnuts, walnuts, grapes, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries- 75,000-gallon rainwater catchment feeds the gardens year-round- Workshop, garden shed, fire pit, quiet space, community porches  
Offer
  • Events
4 weeks ago

Harvest Moon Fellowship Fire Circle

Harvest Moon Fellowship Fire Circle WE Network Flagship Village – Clubb, MO Join us under the rising Harvest Moon for our monthly Fellowship Fire Circle as we align with Natural Law, celebrate our monthly birthdays, and hold space for community fellowship. When: Friday, September 25, 2026 (Gathering begins at dusk) Where: Flagship Village Grounds – Clubb, Missouri Who: Pioneers, trade-builders, families, and community supporters Astrological & Lunar Alignments The Harvest Moon in Aries: Sitting opposite the Sun in Virgo, this full moon illuminates Aries, bringing pioneer energy, bold action, initiative, and the drive to build. Virgo Birthdays: At this gathering, we celebrate all village members born under Virgo (harvesting skills, practical service, order, and detail). Natural Law & Elemental Alignment Earth & Water (Harvest & Storage): As the Autumnal Equinox turns the season, we honor the physical yields of our raw materials, soil stewardship, and long-term storage preparation. Fire & Air (Fellowship & Vision): We gather around the flames to heal the body, align with Natural Law, share upcoming trade shop plans, and build our parallel community ecosystem together. Seeking Foundational Elders We are actively recruiting our Four Elemental Elders (Earth, Air, Fire, Water) to help lead and anchor our flagship village. If you feel called to step into a leadership role for land stewardship, eco-upcycling, spiritual/body healing, or community systems, come connect with us at the fire. What to Bring: Camp chairs, blankets, and a spirit of fellowship. 👉 Details & Intake: Visit fffc.wtf
October 23, 2026 00:00 – October 25, 2026 23:59

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