Showing posts with label Calgary. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Calgary. Show all posts
Friday, September 21, 2012
We have a Development Permit from the City of Calgary
Our Permit request was granted today after several months of deliberations with City Hall and redesigns by NORR Architects. This marks a landmark in our process to build Alberta's second cohousing development.
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
The Happy Movie :: Open Air August
Open Air August in the East Village presents The Happy Movie tonight, August 21. The Happy Movie features some scenes about living in cohousing. One of our members found our project after watching the film.
Friday, July 27, 2012
The View
This is the view from the top of our property (1 Ave 3 St NE).
On the left we have Bridgeland.
Down the middle we have the Bow River valley.
On the right we have the brand new development of the East Village (with St. Vladimir's in the foreground).
Walking 4 blocks to the west, we come to Rotary Park with this magnificent view of downtown Calgary.
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Noxious Weeds
We were prompted to remedy the issue of uncontrolled weed growth with a citation from the City of Calgary. Much of the site was covered in five to eight foot burdocks, thick clusters of flowers, thistles, and tall grass. As it is an acre in size, the task required quite a few man/woman hours and some heavy duty machinery. We razed about 90% of it over the weekend with some blisters and sore backs to show for it.
Friday, June 1, 2012
Downsizing in Calgary
Read this great article from the Calgary Herald (May 27, 2012) about families downsizing rather than moving into bigger homes. Dragonfly Cohousing members Lori and Bryan were interviewed in it.
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Dragonfly Cohousing project fights misconceptions
Dragonfly Cohousing project fights misconceptions
by Amanda Stephenson (Calgary Herald)
by Amanda Stephenson (Calgary Herald)
It will be more than a year before Pat Cancilla can move into her recently purchased Bridgeland suite, but she can’t wait to break bread with her new neighbours.
“I’m looking forward to sharing common meals,” Cancilla says. “I’ve heard the success of a cohousing community can be measured by how many common meals they share a week.”
Cancilla is among the 22 homeowners who have already purchased a suite in Dragonfly Cohousing, a 36-unit residential development planned at the corner of 1st Avenue and 3rd Street S.E. But if its residents have anything to say about it, Dragonfly Cohousing won’t be your run-of-the-mill condo building.
It will be a place where residents grow fresh produce in a shared garden space, where senior citizens and children can get to know each other as friends, and where single people will have a built-in “family” to come home to at the end of the day. Residents might even purchase a shared vehicle, giving individuals the option to give up their own wheels if they want to.
Cohousing, a concept first developed in Denmark in the 1960s, is not brand-new to Calgary. The city’s first cohousing development, Prairie Sky, was completed in 2003 at the corner of Edmonton Trail and 30th Avenue N.E. Its 18 townhouse and apartment-style units are completely sold out, and its model of community-focused, cooperative living has in large part been the inspiration for the Dragonfly Cohousing project.
However, the premise of cohousing is still somewhat radical in North America — there are only 15 or so cohousing arrangements in all of Canada, the majority of which are located in B.C. As they work to bring their own cohousing project to life, Dragonfly members often find themselves fighting misconceptions.
“It’s best to understand cohousing by what it’s not,” says Zaak Robichaud, a Calgary school teacher who has also purchased a Dragonfly unit. “It’s not a commune. We don’t share everything. It’s not just a condo building. And it’s not a cult.”
Under the cohousing structure, members purchase their own individual units that have all the amenities of a typical condo. They also share common areas designed to encourage a sense of community. At Dragonfly Cohousing, for instance, members will have access to a three-storey common house complete with a multi-purpose room, rec room, cafe, large kitchen, dining room, and guest suites that can be booked for family and friends.
The families, couples, and single professionals who have already purchased with Dragonfly don’t consider themselves hippies, by any sense of the word. But they do want to live sustainably in a community where the word “neighbour” really means something.
Jana Vander Kloet, who currently lives in Airdrie, says it was one too many bad-weather commutes that convinced her and her husband to look for alternative housing arrangements. They knew that on their own, they couldn’t afford their dream home in the inner-city — but by banding together with other like-minded individuals, they just might have a shot at it. The cohousing concept saves residents money by cutting down on what individual homeowners need to purchase for themselves.
“I’m looking forward to sharing common meals,” Cancilla says. “I’ve heard the success of a cohousing community can be measured by how many common meals they share a week.”
Cancilla is among the 22 homeowners who have already purchased a suite in Dragonfly Cohousing, a 36-unit residential development planned at the corner of 1st Avenue and 3rd Street S.E. But if its residents have anything to say about it, Dragonfly Cohousing won’t be your run-of-the-mill condo building.
It will be a place where residents grow fresh produce in a shared garden space, where senior citizens and children can get to know each other as friends, and where single people will have a built-in “family” to come home to at the end of the day. Residents might even purchase a shared vehicle, giving individuals the option to give up their own wheels if they want to.
Cohousing, a concept first developed in Denmark in the 1960s, is not brand-new to Calgary. The city’s first cohousing development, Prairie Sky, was completed in 2003 at the corner of Edmonton Trail and 30th Avenue N.E. Its 18 townhouse and apartment-style units are completely sold out, and its model of community-focused, cooperative living has in large part been the inspiration for the Dragonfly Cohousing project.
However, the premise of cohousing is still somewhat radical in North America — there are only 15 or so cohousing arrangements in all of Canada, the majority of which are located in B.C. As they work to bring their own cohousing project to life, Dragonfly members often find themselves fighting misconceptions.
“It’s best to understand cohousing by what it’s not,” says Zaak Robichaud, a Calgary school teacher who has also purchased a Dragonfly unit. “It’s not a commune. We don’t share everything. It’s not just a condo building. And it’s not a cult.”
Under the cohousing structure, members purchase their own individual units that have all the amenities of a typical condo. They also share common areas designed to encourage a sense of community. At Dragonfly Cohousing, for instance, members will have access to a three-storey common house complete with a multi-purpose room, rec room, cafe, large kitchen, dining room, and guest suites that can be booked for family and friends.
The families, couples, and single professionals who have already purchased with Dragonfly don’t consider themselves hippies, by any sense of the word. But they do want to live sustainably in a community where the word “neighbour” really means something.
Jana Vander Kloet, who currently lives in Airdrie, says it was one too many bad-weather commutes that convinced her and her husband to look for alternative housing arrangements. They knew that on their own, they couldn’t afford their dream home in the inner-city — but by banding together with other like-minded individuals, they just might have a shot at it. The cohousing concept saves residents money by cutting down on what individual homeowners need to purchase for themselves.
“For example, we’ll have a shared workshop . . . So not all of us will have to own a garden hose or a drill or a saw,” Vander Kloet says. “I don’t need a guest room in my unit, because I can book the one in the common house. I don’t need to rearrange my entire unit to have eight people over for dinner, I can just book the common house.”
After living in Europe, Vander Kloet was disenchanted with North America’s suburban lifestyle — the big houses, the inability to get anywhere without a car, the isolation from one’s neighbours. She wanted to live somewhere where people would look out for each other’s children, where the elderly would feel less alone.
Robichaud, who currently lives in the city’s far northwest and says most of his neighbours are strangers to him, agrees.
“When we talk about what we’re trying to accomplish, a lot of people say, ‘You’re describing my block. We know everybody, we don’t knock when we go to our neighbours to visit,’ ” he says. “So there are places in Calgary that already have that sense of community, but they tend to be the older, more-established neighbourhoods.”
Instead of an elected condo board, decisions are made by the consensus of all the members. That means that when it came time for the Dragonfly group to purchase land for their development, everyone went along to view each of nine possible sites. The entire planning and development process is the responsibility of the members, and once the 36-unit structure is built, the members will look after the facility management on their own.
But if getting that many individual homeowners to work together and agree sounds vaguely utopian, Robichaud says it simply comes with the territory of cohousing.
“When you start out, you’re most interested in ‘Is this good for you?’ ” he says. “But before long, you start sacrificing personal preferences for what is good for the community. And that’s because you’ve realized that you’re part of the community, so what’s good for the community is good for you.”
Cohousing isn’t for everyone — people either “abhor it or they love it,” Robichaud says. The Dragonfly members don’t let anyone buy a unit unless they’ve come to at least three general meetings and have a good sense of what they’re getting themselves into.
But judging by the enthusiasm with which members have thrown themselves into the Dragonfly project, there is a real hunger among some Calgarians for a way of life that is less about “stuff” and more about relationships. Seventeen-year-old Caleb Jones, who will be moving into Dragonfly with his mother and her boyfriend, said his family always wanted to be part of a small community, but never had the chance.
“I know what it’s like to move around a lot, and it’s really hard to find a place like this, where the entire community is just cooperating and working together,” Jones says. “I think this will work, because everyone already knows each other. Everyone who’s going to be living here has been working together on the production.”
After living in Europe, Vander Kloet was disenchanted with North America’s suburban lifestyle — the big houses, the inability to get anywhere without a car, the isolation from one’s neighbours. She wanted to live somewhere where people would look out for each other’s children, where the elderly would feel less alone.
Robichaud, who currently lives in the city’s far northwest and says most of his neighbours are strangers to him, agrees.
“When we talk about what we’re trying to accomplish, a lot of people say, ‘You’re describing my block. We know everybody, we don’t knock when we go to our neighbours to visit,’ ” he says. “So there are places in Calgary that already have that sense of community, but they tend to be the older, more-established neighbourhoods.”
Instead of an elected condo board, decisions are made by the consensus of all the members. That means that when it came time for the Dragonfly group to purchase land for their development, everyone went along to view each of nine possible sites. The entire planning and development process is the responsibility of the members, and once the 36-unit structure is built, the members will look after the facility management on their own.
But if getting that many individual homeowners to work together and agree sounds vaguely utopian, Robichaud says it simply comes with the territory of cohousing.
“When you start out, you’re most interested in ‘Is this good for you?’ ” he says. “But before long, you start sacrificing personal preferences for what is good for the community. And that’s because you’ve realized that you’re part of the community, so what’s good for the community is good for you.”
Cohousing isn’t for everyone — people either “abhor it or they love it,” Robichaud says. The Dragonfly members don’t let anyone buy a unit unless they’ve come to at least three general meetings and have a good sense of what they’re getting themselves into.
But judging by the enthusiasm with which members have thrown themselves into the Dragonfly project, there is a real hunger among some Calgarians for a way of life that is less about “stuff” and more about relationships. Seventeen-year-old Caleb Jones, who will be moving into Dragonfly with his mother and her boyfriend, said his family always wanted to be part of a small community, but never had the chance.
“I know what it’s like to move around a lot, and it’s really hard to find a place like this, where the entire community is just cooperating and working together,” Jones says. “I think this will work, because everyone already knows each other. Everyone who’s going to be living here has been working together on the production.”
Dragonfly Cohousing’s development permit has already been submitted to the city, and their land purchase has recently closed. NORR Architects has been engaged to design the buildings, and construction is expected to take place in 2013. Unit prices range from $318,000 for a one-bedroom suite to $494,000 for a three-bedroom suite.
A Dragonfly Cohousing information session will be held Friday, May 4 at 7 p.m. at the West Hillhurst Community Association.
A Dragonfly Cohousing information session will be held Friday, May 4 at 7 p.m. at the West Hillhurst Community Association.
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Press Release
Crescent Heights officially home to unique $14M cohousing project
Calgary, Alberta – Dragonfly Cohousing will host a sign-raising media event on Saturday April 14th at 11:00 am to mark the purchase of an acre of land in Calgary’s inner city.
Located at
the corner of 1st Ave and 3rd St NE in Crescent Heights,
the $14 million, 36-unit development will be Alberta’s second cohousing
community.
Cohousing is
a form of intentional community, originating in Denmark, that combines the
advantages of shared resources and community living with privately-owned homes.
The Dragonfly
community will incorporate typical features of cohousing: a common house for
community activities and shared meals, a pedestrian-friendly layout, and be
designed, financed and managed by residents using a consensus-based
decision-making process.
The
development is 61% sold and is expected to break ground in Fall 2012. Check
out the site as it looks today.
For further
information or to arrange interviews, please email info@dragonflycohousing.ca.
About Dragonfly Cohousing
Founded in
October 2010, Dragonfly Cohousing is group of 22 equity households (and
growing) dedicated to building an intentional community in Calgary. Composed of
singles, families, couples and seniors, our members come from a wide variety of
backgrounds, education and occupations. For more information, visit: www.dragonflycohousing.ca
Friday, March 9, 2012
Development Permit Application is SUBMITTED!
As of today, the City of Calgary now has our application. Recommendations will be made and slight changes will be made, but in the interim, our architects will begin working on construction documents.
Monday, February 13, 2012
Development Permit Application
is on it's way to city hall in the next week or so. Yesterday, Dragonfly Cohousing members were presented with the latest massing diagrams, unit floor plans, and architectural features by NORR Architects Planners. Our group approved and signed off on the plans which include:- 36 fully accessible units
- 6 one bedroom plus den (740 sq ft)
- 10 two bedroom (843 sq ft)
- 14 three bedroom (or two bedroom plus den) (1031 sq ft)
- 6 four bedroom (or three bedroom plus den) (1340 sq ft)
- 7 different floors of construction (from parking to the top units)
- over 6000 sq ft of indoor common space (yet to be completely articulated)
- 5 different plazas or courtyards
- common gardens
- 3 different common patios in various locations
- 38 underground parking stalls
- 7 above grade visitor parking stalls
The process of reaching this point involved a lot of back and forth between the architects and our design team. The design team would essentially pass on the rest of the groups questions and concerns to the architects and pass responses back to the whole group.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Interview in Edmonton Journal
Co-housing requires consensus, patience and coloured cards
BY SHEILA PRATT, EDMONTONJOURNAL.COM
NOVEMBER 27, 2011
EDMONTON —When it comes to making group decisions, Zaak Robichaud faced the ultimate challenge — how to get more than a dozen families together to come up with house plans they all liked for a new co-housing project in Calgary.
It helps, says Robichaud, to use consensus cards. At monthly meetings, everyone gets red, green and yellow cards to signal their views. If someone drops a yellow card, that means they have reservations. The issue has be to talked through.
“You can’t just object and walk away, you are obliged to come and help work it out,” Robichaud says.
It works, he says. But you have to be patient.
After two years, the Dragonfly group recently bought a piece of land in central Calgary near Bridgeland, the architectural design is underway and construction will start next year, he says.
That puts them two years away from moving in, so people have to be patient to get into co-housing, says Robichaud.
In this ambitious, $12-million co-housing project with 36 units, the average cost of a condo is $340,000. That will vary with the size of the unit, from one to four bedrooms.
There is an element of risk in co-housing, given that it takes four to five years from start to finish. The longer you carry the land, the more expensive it can be.
On the other hand, acting as their own developer, the group avoids the cost of a middleman, he says. And the risk diminishes as more units are sold.
When half the 36 units were sold, the group had the money to buy land and get design underway.
Robichaud is confident the complex will sell out, since plenty of people are interested in this new model of housing that combines the autonomy of private ownership with some shared space for socializing.
The group decided it wanted a large common space — 5,000 square feet.
So far, families with a total of 15 kids under seven are signed up, along with some seniors, teachers, doctors and professional people.
The group decisions are endless — one big structure or four separate fourplexes? How many elevators, how big a common room, how much energy efficiency?
But all the work is worth it, says Robichaud, who lives with his wife and two children in Calgary’s northwest suburbs.
“Out here the only thing in walking distance is a 7-Eleven convenience store and an Esso gas station. With two small children, we really feel isolated.” Living in co-housing will change all that.
“In co-housing nobody every pays for babysitting,” he says. “We look after each other.”
BY SHEILA PRATT, EDMONTONJOURNAL.COM
NOVEMBER 27, 2011
EDMONTON —When it comes to making group decisions, Zaak Robichaud faced the ultimate challenge — how to get more than a dozen families together to come up with house plans they all liked for a new co-housing project in Calgary.
It helps, says Robichaud, to use consensus cards. At monthly meetings, everyone gets red, green and yellow cards to signal their views. If someone drops a yellow card, that means they have reservations. The issue has be to talked through.
“You can’t just object and walk away, you are obliged to come and help work it out,” Robichaud says.
It works, he says. But you have to be patient.
After two years, the Dragonfly group recently bought a piece of land in central Calgary near Bridgeland, the architectural design is underway and construction will start next year, he says.
That puts them two years away from moving in, so people have to be patient to get into co-housing, says Robichaud.
In this ambitious, $12-million co-housing project with 36 units, the average cost of a condo is $340,000. That will vary with the size of the unit, from one to four bedrooms.
There is an element of risk in co-housing, given that it takes four to five years from start to finish. The longer you carry the land, the more expensive it can be.
On the other hand, acting as their own developer, the group avoids the cost of a middleman, he says. And the risk diminishes as more units are sold.
When half the 36 units were sold, the group had the money to buy land and get design underway.
Robichaud is confident the complex will sell out, since plenty of people are interested in this new model of housing that combines the autonomy of private ownership with some shared space for socializing.
The group decided it wanted a large common space — 5,000 square feet.
So far, families with a total of 15 kids under seven are signed up, along with some seniors, teachers, doctors and professional people.
The group decisions are endless — one big structure or four separate fourplexes? How many elevators, how big a common room, how much energy efficiency?
But all the work is worth it, says Robichaud, who lives with his wife and two children in Calgary’s northwest suburbs.
“Out here the only thing in walking distance is a 7-Eleven convenience store and an Esso gas station. With two small children, we really feel isolated.” Living in co-housing will change all that.
“In co-housing nobody every pays for babysitting,” he says. “We look after each other.”
Monday, October 10, 2011
LAND!!!
View Larger Map
Dragonfly Cohousing is currently in the process of purchasing a piece of land in Crescent Heights in north east Calgary. We look forward to the design phase, getting to know our future neighbourhood, and closing the deal!
Stay tuned for future developments!
Saturday, September 17, 2011
EcoLiving Fair in Calgary
Calgary enjoys another great gathering of eco-minded people at the EcoLiving Fair to be held on September 30 and October 1 at the SAIT Campus. Exhibitors will be present along with a speaker series on the Saturday including a presentation on cohousing (2:00-2:45* in MA112). Other presentations will be made from energy experts, cloth diaper enthusiasts, vegetarians and construction innovators.Come check it out!
*Note the new time.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Cohousing at the EcoLiving Fair in Calgary
I will be presenting "Cohousing: Intentional Community in Calgary" at the Calgary EcoLiving Fair. The exhibits and presentations will be at SAIT from September 30 to October 1.
Another member of our cohousing community, Roger Gagné, is presenting Opportunities in Alberta’s Renewable Energy Landscape.
Come check it out!
Friday, June 24, 2011
Citywide Clothing Swap
Amber and Heather from Dragonfly Cohousing attended Calgary's citywide clothing swap (imperatively called Take Off Your Clothes). Why buy new (or used) when you can clean out your closet and swap?
They got a few things.
It happens twice a year if you're interested.
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