New Koinonia
11/01/11 - PES
My concept for a cooperative community would begin with the purchase of a multi-family property that can accommodate several individuals, couples, or small families. I have found several properties in the Hagerstown area that can be purchased for about $60,000 per unit. For instance, this is a unit with five 2-bedroom apartments and one 1-bedroom apartment, in the Hagerstown historic area, for $315,000, and another of similar size:
I would like to provide housing for retired people or those who are living in "empty nests" that are too large for their needs, and also offer housing for young people, such as students, who may be able to help with some of the needs of older or disabled residents in return for reduced rent. My plan would be to create a non-profit corporation for tax benefits, and possibly also apply for a government grant or loan to finance this experiment in a new style of living economically.
Eventually, I would like to expand the project to obtain a large property with enough land to provide the opportunity for individuals to live in mobile homes or small individual homes, but also have a larger central facility where people may share meals, recreation, and home-based occupations. I found a 7 bedroom house and farm with about 8 acres for about $1,500,000. If zoned appropriately, this could be home for perhaps 20-30 people.
I have also found a KOA campground for sale, in Wytheville, VA, near Blacksburg and Roanoke, Virginia, about 350 miles from Baltimore. The listed price is $1,500,000, and it has 107 acres with a large house as well as over 100 campsites, and nice amenities such as a heated pool with waterslide, hiking trails, pet playground, miniature golf course, and recreation room with air hockey, pool tables, and batting cages. This will allow residents to have a choice of living in a small cabin, or set up a motor home which can be very comfortable. The facility could continue to operate as a campground and would provide jobs for a number of people. See http://koa.com/campgrounds/wytheville/photos/ for more information. Here are sample photos:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I welcome any who are interested to stay in touch, and perhaps engage in dinner meeting discussions and field trips to visit properties, and eventually make this a reality. Contact Paul E. Schoen at 410-667-4889 or email paul@newkoinonia.com.
