No single physical element is more important to the health and success

of a cohousing community than the Common House.

The Common House is where our intentional community will come together. Here, our members share meals. We play together and work together. We celebrate special occasions. We share time over coffee and tea. We enjoy face-to-face conversations, stories and getting to know one another. We can watch sunrises and sunsets in this communal space, and warm up by the fire on beautiful, snowy days. It is, as one of our members has said, “where 'neighbor' gets put back into neighborhood.” It is literally the heart of any cohousing community.

Designed for Comfort and Community Interaction

This floor plan was developed by our architecture firm, Conterra Workshop.  In our Ridgway neighborhood, our Common House will be large enough to comfortably accommodate meals and meetings of the entire community, while having places for smaller, more intimate gatherings such as book clubs and meditation groups. The porch wraps around the south end, and was thoughtfully designed to make the most of our views of the San Juan Mountains and Uncompahgre River Valley to the south. This indoor/outdoor community space will be a central hub for celebration and creativity – the foundation of the Colorado lifestyle.

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Amenities: (from the top center, going clockwise) Den with a fireplace for reading, meditating and smaller gatherings • Wraparound porch with the mountain and alpenglow views • Great room for dining and large events • Group kitchen with an open design • Storage for tables, chairs, etc. • Laundry and a mudroom/dog wash – complete with a raised dog wash station! • ADA-accessible guest room for visiting friends and family • Flex room for meetings or use as a work/creative space • Exercise room

Pioneer Valley Cohousing Common House Den Photo NEW YORK TIMES.jpg

The Vision and Value of the Common House

Learn more about the significance of common houses in the sustainability of cohousing communities:

Designing a Common House to Feel Like Home

Cohousing - Best of Both Worlds

We highly recommend this PBS Special (8 min., 45 sec.). Not only does it offer a feel for the common house environment, but it speaks to the value of multigenerational communities. Enjoy!

Groups in Denmark and the U.S. are choosing to live in intentionally intergenerational communities, which emerged to strengthen social ties between aging seniors and their younger counterparts who are balancing work and family. People living in them say the model fosters an interdependent environment and helps everyone feel more comfortable with the process of getting older.