Work continues on planned Milwaukee cohousing development

MILWAUKEE – If you walk along Humboldt Boulevard in Milwaukee’s Riverwest neighborhood, you’ll notice chainlink fencing has gone up around the site of the former Big Daddy’s BBQ & Soul Food and before that the Milwaukee Beer Bistro:

Prep work has begun on a unique real estate development in the City of Milwaukee: a cohousing community named River Trail Commons. While it would be a first-of-its-kind concept for Milwaukee, five cohousing arrangements can be found throughout Madison, which are part of the roughly 200 such living setups that can be found throughout the U.S.

The idea of cohousing originated in Denmark in the late 1960s. Cohousing.org defines the concept with six common characteristics: connected relationships, a smaller footprint, private homes, common spaces, participation, and shared values. Where the idea of cohousing differs from a co-op housing setup is that houses in a cohousing setup are owned by the resident much like any other private property, but with the addition of shared spaces and activities. Specific to River Trail Commons, shared facilities plans have included a geothermal heating/cooling system, a shared electric vehicle, and a common garden space....