Cost Considerations
Despite the group design process and potential for customization, developers say cohousing doesn’t cost that much more than traditional multifamily development.
Most of the additional cost comes from common areas and lower densities. Libraries, auditoriums, chapels, commercial-grade kitchens, and dining rooms aren’t usually a part of most multifamily projects and will drive up the project’s expenses.
“Construction costs also may be a little higher because higher-density buildings are probably a little cheaper to build,” Peterson notes.
The lower density means higher mechanical costs, such as heating, air conditioning, and ventilation. However, because walkways, not roads, are the favored modes of transportation, the cost of street construction can be reduced significantly.
“Sometimes it can cost less to do a cohousing project because you don’t have to have a premium, marketable location,” Durrett explains. Since cohousing is more about people than place, he surmises, “it makes the location, so you can buy marginal properties that might not sell for traditional multifamily.” Margot Carmichael Lester is a freelance writer in Carrboro, N.C.