Colorful purple house with garden and green plants in front.

Sunset House

  • Communities

About the Communities

  • Established
  • Social
  • Urban

Founding year

  • 1970

What we do

Sunset House is a cooperative in a beautiful, six-bedroom, purple house located on Duwamish land in the Central District / south Capitol Hill area. Our house consists of: 6 bedrooms, a covered front porch, newly built big back deck, hardwood floors, a guest bedroom, living room, dining room, an open kitchen, large pantry, a large basement, and breakfast nook space. Our backyard is big with many garden beds, 3 chickens and their coop, fruit trees, a large newly built deck, and space for potential! The basement has a tool room, space for musicians to practice, plenty of storage space, washer/dryer, chest freezer, mini-fridge for extra storage and bike hooks.
A community since 1970, Sunset is part of a land trust, so that means no landlord As a member, you will be a steward of the property, taking part in all decisions that have to do with improvements, maintenance, recruitment, and more. We have a duty and responsibility to maintain the house, and pay dues to be able to afford to make repairs, pay our property taxes and nurture the space and our community. The Evergreen Land Trust is the oldest community land trust in the Pacific Northwest, the board of which is composed of members of its eight properties. In short, as members of the ELT, we hold each other accountable to following the mission of providing permanently affordable and sustainable housing.

Our Mission

Our Values: To build strong relations with each other, formally and informally. To cultivate an intentional community of mutual aid and generosity. To steward this house responsibly, keeping it beautiful, safe, and well­ maintained. To create a household that feels alive, full, active, and welcoming – the center of a web for family, friends, and extended community. To contribute to collective liberation- making our space available and supportive in anti-oppression based organizing and connection. “The truth is, no one of us can be free until everybody is free.” -Maya Angelou-

  • Purpose
  • Social
  • Community type
  • Commune

Commemorative dates

  • January 1, 1970
  • Started planning
  • January 1, 1970
  • Started living together

Gallery

  • 6 Total members
  • Open to new members
  • Open to visitors
Total
6

How to join

One Open Room for July 1st<3
Looking for a housemate to join Sunset House, a beautiful (purple!), six-bedroom, cooperative house in the Central District. Our ideal housemate is a kind, tidy, self-aware person with well-tested communication skills and a passion for community living.
Priority to QTBIPOC.
Details:
-$850/month dues, includes all groceries/utilities
-Available July 1st-Historic commune dating back to the 70s
-House owned by the Evergreen Land Trust (no landlord)
-Central/Cap Hill location-Laundry, parking, gardens, beautiful historic home, woodshop, large kitchen.
****To learn more and apply, go to this link: https://sunsethouse.carrd.co/

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.

Economic model

  • Independent Finances

Members maintain separate personal finances with minimal sharing.

Economic scenarios for this community

  • 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

Regular fees: $850
Labor: Yes

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

Garden(s), Workshop, Fire pit, Internet

Age demographics

  • Mixed adults (few or no children)

Guest Book

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

Location

  • Washington, United States

Needs and Offers

Offer
Offer
  • Marketplace
6 years ago

Cohousing: A Contemporary Approach to Housing Ourselves Books for Sale

Cohousing: A Contemporary Approach to Housing Ourselves, Charles Durrett and Kathryn McCamant introduce Cohousing with stories and pictures of both Danish and American communities. Beautiful photographs and line drawings illustrate the warmly written account of how these communities came to be. Specific information on legal and financial aspects of working with developers, group process, and design issues make this book informative as well as inspiring. This is the book which brought Cohousing to North America. This book is the much prized second edition which has become a rarer and somewhat of a collectors item. Its community case studies were not included in the more recent publication. It preceded Creating Cohousing which is widely available. I acquired 25 cases from a local distributor who closed down. If you would like three or more copies for yourself, to share with your friends or to market your group, please let me know. I would love for them to be made useful and find great homes. Books are paperback (hard copy was not an option at the time from the publisher) all brand new, in Oakland (CA) so could be picked in Oakland or mailed to you. I would very much like to recuperate what I paid which is $10 per book. So, If you would like three or more shipped, I will add the postage, packing and handling fees. I have sold several cases (18 books per case) for $150 per case ($8 per book). I have a little wiggle room on the pricing. Please let me know if you are interested. Use the Send Message button on this page.

Information

Communities

A residential project: people live here as their primary home.

Organizations

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).

Plus Community Memberhsip

  • Find people with Profile Match
  • Access to your community listing statistics
  • Create Discussion Groups
  • 50% commission when your members purchase a Plus Membership
  • Access to our affiliate program
  • Member badge on your community profile
I am an official member of this community
Disclaimer
I affirm that my information is accurate and I am authorized to manage this listing
Foundation for Intentional Community FIC Member badge logo.

Free Plan

Free Membership
Free

Intentional Advertising

  • Subtotal

    {{ currencyFormat( pricing_summary.total_amount ) }}

Icon representing community connections and collaboration for intentional communities.

Plus Membership

  • Find communities with Profile Match
  • View detailed reviews about communities
  • Direct message and view contact information
  • Create free listings in Needs & Offers
  • Plus Member resources in CommUniversity
  • Plus Member badge on your profile