Rising at Daybreak

Daybreak is a new, 30-unit cohousing community set to opens this fall near Portland's Overlook neighborhood. Residents will live in compact flats and townhouses and share the use of many community amenities like a kids' playroom and a commercial kitchen and dining room for group meals. The buildings will be two, three and four stories, all connected with exterior walkways.

The Daybreak development is actively seeking members and will hold a public tour at the Daybreak site, at 2525 North Killingsworth Street, on Saturday, June 6 from 1–4PM. Other socials and tours will be held throughout the summer including on-site tours on July 5 and August 2.

The project was designed through a collaborative process involving those residents who pursued the initial development, accomplished with the help of Seattle firm schemata Workshop as well as Portland landscape architects Lando & Associates. (I promise I won't make any Lando Calrissian jokes this time.)

A team of residents, the Daybreak website explains, “makes the design decisions or determines how to bring design decisions to the rest of the community. Our primary development goal is to execute our community vision and represent our values where appropriate in our physical space. We are striving to create a physical environment that enhances our experience of community. We wish to live in a place that values multi-generational living, namely, being kid and aging-in-place friendly. We wish to incorporate sustainable materials and systems to the extent our budget allows. We are working to integrate with and welcome our neighbors to our community through our design."

A guiding principle, say those envisioning Daybreak, is “quality over image. We are designing for high quality infrastructure and systems with insulation, moisture protection, radiant floors, and other features. The individual units are designed to be highly standardized and simple to reduce cost and provide for easy customization later.”

Comments

[sam]

wow! this is great! the concept really takes sustainability to a new level by embracing community. is it rental units or condos? any idea of the cost?

[h-lin]

"quality over image" = false dilemma

[keith.d]

"The individual units are designed to be highly standardized and simple to reduce cost..."

Isn't that what most developers do?

"We wish to incorporate sustainable materials and systems to the extent our budget allows."

That's pretty light on details.

And while the renderings are energetic and exciting - their decision to go with chocolate brown windows and trim leave the place looking pretty dull.

The final building coupled with their lack of cooperation with their neighbors makes the overall project a real minus in my book.

Something to learn from rather than a shining example.

[zilfondel]

The rendering with it sitting in the grass is ridiculous - talk about misleading as to site context. It doesn't take much effort to download an aerial image from MS live local or something

[keith.d]

Sam - From their fact sheet on units available for purchase by people approved for membership by Daybreak:

1 bdrm / 1 bath
2 bdrm / 1.5 bath
3 bdrm / 2 bath

Units range from 700 to 1150 square feet.

$220,000 to $415,000

[PD]

This sounds like an interesting concept; it will be interesting to how one becomes a "member".

Also, sounds very expensive...like $300 per foot? Ouch!!!

[Max]

A quick look at Daybreak's website (www.daybreakcohousing.org) shows that you get more than just your unit. There is a Common House and it looks quite spacious. So that probably accounts for the higher price per sq foot (the unit price includes costs for the common areas). I'm getting my mind around the idea that cohousing is about sharing space, so even though it is owning your own home, it is about having much more than that too.

Think I'll do one of the tours and find out more.

[A Cohousing supporter.]

way to drink the kool aid Max, the thing about that is that this $360 per square foot includes ZERO spent on garages/parking - 30 units no off street parking. Comparable homes in the neighborhood (rehab'd or new with garages) are going for around a 160 less per square foot. Also Daybreak canned the solar panels and rainwater storage based on cost.

Their $360/ sq ft also includes no balconies or gas heating/ranges. Another cost savings.

That commonhouse must be guilded. Let us know, Max.

[JennyA]

These units are, yes, rather steep--especially if one does not factor in the expansive common areas. But there's a lot more than square footage at stake here; one also has to consider the value of living in community. A consensus-based community stands in stark contrast to society at large. And what's that worth? To some, not much. And to others, to quote the overplayed ad, "Priceless."

[keith.d]

I'd have to agree with you Jenny, because there is real value in that.

But the experience of myself and other neighbors in Overlook is that Daybreak is as self-involved as any Developer could be. They have been unwilling to work with their Overlook neighbors in order to minimize some of the impact of their project moving into a block filled with families in single family homes.

If you need proof, have a look at the transformer they placed "behind" their project but next to our homes on Delaware. We asked them to plant a permanent plant so that it would cover the transformer from our view and especially to protect it from graffiti.

They refused, saying that we wouldn't have any say in their project. In their property. In their community.

Is that co-housing? Not according to one architect I spoke with who has experience with it. Co-housing should be eager to promote community involvement.

So they planted this transformer with vines that block their view of it and claim it will eventually be covered on our side as well.

But eventually doesn't seem very fair when Portland Nursery provided us with information on a plant that would have an immediate impact and for only $150.

We have no legal way of making them cover it for three years - the time the city allows plants to cover what Daybreak jokingly referred to as "the steel monolith."

We've actually invited them to coffee and into our homes to discuss our concerns, but to no avail. We never expected all our concerns to be addressed, but we've all been surprised that none of them have been.

For their part they apologized, saying the fact that they listened to our concerns wasn't meant to be taken that they would act on them.

Our biggest surprise has come from the belief that we were getting people who were interested in community as neighbors in Overlook; but actions speak louder than words.

[Wygant Neighbor]

I live in Overlook and I'm unimpressed with the building. One look at it breaks my day.

It's out of scale for the other buildings and houses in the area. Seems designed with disregard of the residential area. The picture of the lone model seems to prove that.

What is up with a four story structure next to 2-story houses?

I don't see how the modular, stilted architecture fits the harmonious ideals of co-housing. I expect more from a group of people with such high aspirations.