Corner Farm Village crafted a site design that will place buildings on two acres of poor soil, leaving the adjacent high-quality farmland and riparian area intact. The “village” will include a farm stand and café, and 12 homes, organized as a housing cooperative.

Our goal is to provide modest, attainable housing that takes seriously the environmental realities and opportunities society faces in the 21st century. We will design and construct all homes with climate change, wildfire risk, human health, and resource efficiency in mind. For instance:

• The buildings will be electricity-only and solar ready; the solar production will be tied into the grid for net metering.
• Buildings will use heat pumps, the cheapest and most efficient way to both heat and cool buildings today.
• An electric vehicle charging station will be available.
• Metal roofs will be fire safe and long lasting.
• Every effort will be made to promote non-toxic building materials and healthy indoor environments.
• All decisions regarding construction will be made with sustainability, resilience, and cost effectiveness in mind. · We are particularly impressed by the Pretty Good House.

The Village will be organized as a housing cooperative, which means the residents own and control the housing and community facilities. Rather than own real estate, members of the cooperative will own shares in the housing cooperative corporation. These shares give members an exclusive right to live in one of the homes for as long as you want, assuming you abide by the agreed-upon rules. Members may also gain equity, depending on how the cooperative is formed. Members also have a voting right to participate in the democratic governance of the cooperative.

Corner Farm Village’s cooperative is still in its infancy. Stay tuned for more details. To learn more about how housing cooperatives work, download this overview from the National Association for Housing Cooperatives (PDF) or for a deeper dive, download The Playbook for Cooperative Development from Home Base (PDF).