Living Co-ops – A Window of Opportunity
December 16, 2008 
7 Comments
There are a few intentional living communities in Spokane currently, but most of them are small, suburban and affiliated with a church community or service organization. They are great social assets to the area because their members are energetic and willing to volunteer in a broad variety of efforts. Two examples are Knox House and the Jesuit Volunteer Corps.
What Spokane doesn’t have is an urban living co-op, that is at least not yet… Consider the story of Apex in Seattle:
In 1981, a group of broke, but highly motivated residents (many of them artists) banded together to seek an affordable solution to the rising cost of living in Belltown, one of Downtown Seattle’s most colorful neighborhoods. Bearing the torch of affordable housing, they began consulting with Belltown business owners and the end result was that Jim Egbert, owner of snazzy home furnishing store Egbert’s, agreed to sell two floors of the building above his shop to the future Apexers.
The 1909 Apex hotel had been vacant for a few years and needed extensive renovation. Buoyed by loans from the National Consumer Co-op Bank (a Jimmy Carter legacy set up to compensate for lender reluctance to finance co-ops) as well as the City of Seattle and some private parties, the Apex Belltown Cooperative was born.
Note the high cost condominium tower that is being built right next door. Now let’s do a little visioning exercise to rewrite this story in terms of Spokane:
In 2010, a group of broke, but highly motivated residents (many of them creatives) banded together to seek an affordable solution to the rising cost of living in the East End, one of Downtown Spokane’s most colorful neighborhoods. Bearing the torch of affordable housing, they began consulting with East End business owners and the end result was that Mr. or Mrs. XYZ, owner of a snazzy building housing the Globe bar and grill, agreed to sell two floors of the building above the restaurant to the future Janet dwellers.
The Janet hotel had been vacant for many years and needed renovation. Buoyed by loans from the National Consumer Coop Bank (a Jimmy Carter legacy set up to compensate for lender reluctance to finance coops) as well as the City of Spokane and some private parties, the Janet East End Cooperative was born.
Notice how little tweaking is required to make this a plausible scenario? And might I add that Spokane is WAY more photogenic than Seattle in Google Street View?
If designed correctly, this kind of living center could become ground zero for the “renaissance revolution” we’ve been dying to see here in Spokane. I could carry on for days about how this project would fill a variety of gaping holes that exist in our local sociocultural landscape. Talent would move back here just to be a part of the Janet. It would be a brick and mortar brain trust homing beacon. I would cut off my right arm to live there (OK, so that is a bit of an exaggeration).
This would be a great leap towards SUSTAINABLE economic development in the region. A plan that takes into account the type of environment entrepreneurs and innovators want to exist in and around. Although the financing may not be available for a few years, we shouldn’t let that stop us from starting to dream and scheme now. People always talk about how Spokane is just like how Seattle was back in the day. Well the clock is ticking and we shouldn’t let this precious window of opportunity to develop affordable housing pass us by. Just think of the vital link this corridor provides between downtown and the emerging University District. With everything else going on around the block it is just a hands down win-win-win situation.
So what do you say? Would you live there? How would you structure it? What should be the criteria for acceptance? How should the community be governed? Let us know. Let this post be a prophecy of rad apartment availability yet to come.
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The Jubilee Community in West Central is another really good local example of living intentionally in a neighborhood.
Perhaps something wonderful like this should occur along West First, now that the developers of spec condos that probably aren’t going to be working out anytime soon have displaced a substantial majority of the neighborhood’s residents.
* Yes!! My friends and i talk a lot about getting buying some kind of apartment or communal living situation, but we’ve never gotten it together.
* Not sure about structure……….It’d be nice to have 1 parking place per apartment, and a limit on how long you could sub-lease your apartment if traveling. Also, have as much solar power installed as possible.
* Criteria? Able to make your end of the payments, or buy in directly, plus put into a pool for maintenance.
* Governed by a tenant board, much like a coop.
A friend of mine lives in a similar situation with her husband in Tacoma. They share a few cars, gardens, common outdoor and indoor spaces with about 20 other members. Tacoma has a few areas like this. They are also located next to pubs, like the Elk in BA, but they are much more centered around family.
& on another communal note, Spokane native Ryan Keberle
announced that the Latin Jazz Corner has included him in their Best of 2008 awards in the Trombone Player of the Year category. If you feel like supporting Ryan in the voting process click here:
http://www.chipboaz.com/blog/best-of-2008/
I work for Community Frameworks a non-profit housing development agency and this is a really good idea. Do you know if the building owners are interested?
There are a number of other buildings that mihgt be appropriate for this type of project too but as you say the economic situation is a little dicey with lending being so tight but if the “affordable” part is true then looking to the City HOME money or even the County HOME money if the Cities is all commited would be appropriate.
City contact wouold be Melora Sharts at 625-6325 at the City’s Community Development office or Richard Culton at the County at 477-4487 (I think) but Tim Crowley I know is at 477-4488. Good luck on this I would love to see it happen. A trip to the Spokanecounty.org site will get you to the assessors site and you can find out who owns it and how much they paid.
It will give you and idea of the amount for the whole property and you might be able to negotiate from there. Good luck!
I have a friend who used to live in the Belltown Co-op. It was a beautiful space, and definitely a more appealing living situation than she could have afforded on her own-the sum being greater than the parts, so to speak.
There are all kinds of benefits to this type of situation: intentional community-building, re-invigorating unused spaces, affordable living situations, diversity, etc., etc. I also think there is great appeal to communities like this for families. Our single-family home mentality keeps us isolated in many ways, each house a silo which may or may not connect to the ones around it. A co-op or other community that has shared spaces and ideals creates a support system for families that could enrich and support their lives in so many ways.
I believe Spokane is ready for this type of shift.
This building is constantly for sale:
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=1000+e+sprague+spokane,+wa&ie=UTF8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&ll=47.657229,-117.385142&spn=0.001225,0.002414&t=h&z=19&layer=c&cbll=47.65723,-117.385007&panoid=BxO9SagxrLvEFNCuHjoTNg&cbp=12,166.1619658234266,,0,-5.475591702772331
Retail and residential space for one (presumably) LOW price!
yes, definitely, I’d love to live in a co-op situation in or near downtown. with live/work space, performance space, lofts, shared kitchen(s), shared art supplies/tools, sharable knowledge, computers, resource guides, etc. spokane needs a bunch of artists to get a freakin’ warehouse, or other sort of huge space, and do it, and if built yes, i’d like to come.
I have been living in Seattle /Olympia for 12yrs, I’m from Spokane though (well, i moved back there a couple times for just a few months). I’m actually very possibly moving there in about a week. i’ll need space for some of the video/visual art/noise shit I’ve been working on for years. Definitely, preferably very close to the main market co-op opening this year, which i just heard about recently and am excited for