Group of diverse people at PDX Commons community event with scarves and shovels.

PDX Commons

  • Communities

About the Communities

  • Established
  • Home-sharing
  • Urban

Founding year

  • 2013

What we do

PDX Commons is an urban cohousing condominium development in one of Portland’s great neighborhoods. This is a four-story new building situated around an enclosed garden courtyard and common house. There are 27 units (1, 2 and 3 bedrooms) ranging from 650-1250 square feet. The neighborhood includes grocery stores, trendy shops, popular restaurants, music venues and brewpubs. It’s the ultimate in walkability (95 Walk Score). We sit directly on the #15 bus line for excellent public transit. The Sunnyside Belmont neighborhood is a vibrant, dynamic place in the inner heart of Portland, constantly rated as one of the most livable cities in the US. Designed for active adults, we are a 55+ community. The units and building are designed for age-in-place and age-in-community. Many of our Commoners still work in their professions but are close to retirement. We are teachers, nurses, therapists, doctors, lawyers, developers, financial expert, consultants, environmental specialists with an international sommelier to sort out our wine choices. We are generally liberal leaning (as one might expect in Portland) though it is certainly not a requirement. Members began moving into the building in July, 2017. The project is currently sold out. A waiting list is available. Come check us out. pdxcommons.com

Our Mission

Proactive adults living in a collaborative, sharing, loving community where our goal is to generate a rich experience for everyone for the next third of our lives.

  • Purpose
  • Home-sharing
  • Community type
  • Cohousing

Commemorative dates

  • January 1, 2013
  • Started planning
  • January 1, 2017
  • Started living together
  • 39 Total members
  • Not open to new members
  • Open to visitors
Total
39

How to join

Project is currently sold out. A waiting list is maintained for persons interested in buying a condo unit when one becomes available for sale.

Basic expectations or agreements for members

Visit website at www.pdxcommons.com for latest information on contacts and visits.

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.

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

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

Common House, Garden(s), Library, Workshop, Outdoor Kitchen, Large Scale Kitchen, Fire pit, Gym or sports area, Internet

Frequency of communal meals

  • About once a week

Substance use culture

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

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

  • 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
    0.4 acres

Guest Book

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

Location

  • Oregon, United States

PDX Commons

Needs and Offers

Connecting people and communities through an intentional online marketplace

Need
  • Forming Communities
3 weeks ago

Looking for: people building relational capacity, with a view to community

What’s here now: An intention, a framework developed over five years, and a programme running in central Victoria to find people to build with. No land, no group, no timeline. The question this is organised around: What makes a community of people living together sustainable over decades – where people enjoy being there, conflict is low, and the conflict that does arise gets handled in ways people value. The distinctive premise is capacity before formation. Most communities form first and build relational skill afterwards, usually under pressure. This one proposes doing it the other way round: people build the capacities first, and the group forms from people who have them. That includes a working idea about collective capacity – that a group has a ratio, and below some threshold it can’t metabolise its own conflict and starts consuming itself. Roughly: in a group of twenty, perhaps three or four with high capacity, most in the middle, and very few without. Untested, and something this project exists to find out. Governance: Sociocracy, with the intention of testing it meaningfully at scale rather than adopting it nominally. What’s actually happening: A three-week residency at a property near Castlemaine, and a practice group running before it. The medium-term aim is twenty to forty people at a rented facility. The long-term aim is a support hub sharing the framework more widely. What I’m looking for: People who want to build this capacity seriously, and who might eventually want to build something together. Not necessarily people who want to live here – the current property probably isn’t the long-term site. Happy to hear from anyone this resonates with, including people already in community who’d rather share what they’ve learned than join anything.
Offer
  • Real Estate For Sale
4 weeks ago

Unit C-2, Woodard Lane Cohousing — Olympia, WA

Join Olympia’s first and longest-running cohousing community, in a quiet West Side neighborhood 1.6 miles from downtown, backing onto a forested ravine along Schneider Creek. Unit C-2 offers 1,904 SF. Two stories, 4 bedrooms, 2 full bathrooms, and a bonus loft room on the main level. It can be lived in as one spacious family home — or split into two independent living spaces, each with its own kitchen, entrance, and effective soundproofing. Great for multigenerational households, live/work arrangements, or an owner-occupied half with a rented or shared half. Upper level: bedroom, full bath, bonus room with built-in loft bed, and an open kitchen-dining-living area with a deck facing the forest. Lower level: 3 bedrooms, full bath with dual sinks, second full kitchen, laundry room, and a second patio. Features: 2 full kitchens, radiant floor heat, stained concrete floors (bamboo upstairs), double-pane windows, bolted keyed entries at both levels, dedicated laundry, concrete patios facing the ravine, shared parking with 18 EV charging stations.   Ownership includes a Common House with a guest room, full kitchen, gathering space, and kids’ play area; a shared vegetable garden; a wood shop and bike storage; and wooded grounds with a stream path and central Green. Monthly dues are $799, covering all utilities except internet. Established in 2010, Woodard Lane is home to ~40 residents across 18 homes, with shared meals, work parties, and genuine neighborliness. Learn more about Woodard Lane Cohousing  We’re looking for a buyer who wants to participate fully in community life. $630,000. Contact Kate Greene: yo******@***il.com or text: 360-789-7587.
Offer
Need

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

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