A new co-housing community has launched in Smithers and has purchased a 2.2-acre site in the Ambleside Park sub-division behind Canadian Tire.
Members of the Smithers Cohousing Corporation are hosting an information presentation by the site development manager Gary Morrison of LiveWell Cohousing on Saturday, Jan. 6 at 7 p.m. at the Healthy Living Centre at the corner of Alfred Avenue and Main Street.
Following the presentation there will be tea, coffee and a Q&A session with the development manager and members of the corporation. The public is invited to hear more about the co-housing approach to the way real estate projects can be planned and designed.
The new project will showcase this unique form of housing that combines privately owned homes with extensive “clubhouse” amenity areas and resources. Co-housers refer to it as social sustainability — placing community at the centre of the planning and design process.
“We want to live in this friendly co-housing community because it will create and promote an environment that is socially vibrant, financially attainable and also close to downtown,” said Mary Boyce.
Mary and her husband Rob Boyce have lived in Smithers for 19 years and are founding members of this new co-housing community.
Smithers Cohousing currently has nine founding families, but the finished project will have a total of 16 homes. Additional members will have the option to join as the project design and planning process moves forward during 2018.
The Bulkley Valley and nearby area has other co-housing communities, including a recently completed project in Hazelton plus a co-housing project in the planning stages in Telkwa.
Co-housing follows a unique process for design of homes and surrounding neighbourhood. Owners participate in the planning and design process from the very beginning, ensuring that their community meets their needs, both individual and collectively.
Each household owns a private residence but also shares extensive facilities with their neighbours, such as a common house, workshops and community vegetable gardens. These common facilities are an important aspect of community life both for social and practical reasons.
Design workshops for this new community commence in January 2018 with construction planned to begin in summer 2018. Move-in will start the following summer.
– Submitted by Smithers Cohousing Corporation.
