Conceived, developed, and designed by Cultivate, the C Street Co-op demonstrates a much-needed housing development model that creates new affordable homeownership opportunities on typical residential lots. Community cooperation makes the project possible: the co-op features intentionally-designed shared homes with suites for multiple owners and a shared ownership structure. The buildings are resident-owned as a limited-equity housing cooperative, and the land is owned by local nonprofit Square One Villages, acting as a community land trust which ensures long-term affordability.  A one-time investment by local social investors paired with modest subsidies ($24,000 per household—about 10% of the subsidy required by typical affordable rental housing in the area) enables permanently affordable homeownership for households earning 60% of the area median income or less.

Developed before the arrival of Oregon’s middle housing regulations, the co-op consists of a new shared house and ADU designed with one-bedroom suites for six resident co-op owners. Informed by passive house principles, the design maximizes construction efficiency and energy efficiency, targeting net zero energy performance. The co-op’s homeowners self-manage their housing and have total monthly payments of approximately $770 including utilities and maintenance fees. As of this writing (January 2023), there has been no turnover among the six original resident-owners.

The C Street Co-op was Cultivate’s first venture as a developer and was completed under budget and ahead of schedule. 

Resources
Project Flyer
Eugene Weekly feature
Open House Speech
Proforma
Square One Villages