Collective housing is about more than sharing the rent

Cooperatives, whether they be credit unions, grocery stores, retailers or housing, can be a force for change in the community.

And the Kalamazoo Housing Collective is a change-maker in Kalamazoo's neighborhoods, where it now owns five properties, four of which were purchased within the last two years. Residents can rent from one of three properties, an apartment cooperative, a home for five memberfs and a second home for 10 members.

Those choosing these shared living arrangements today often are doing so out of financial necessity or as a way to follow their social beliefs.

The housing collective in Kalamazoo is an example of what is a slowly growing national trend, says Daniel Miller, of North American Students of Cooperation. The growth of cooperative housing can be attributed to its appeal to different people on different levels, Miller says.

"Some people will mainly be attracted to the location and price of the housing. Others might have a real hunger for community, and want to know their neighbors," he says. "Some folks have seen enough of abusive landlords, and are very attracted to housing where the residents are in control. And there are also potential members who are most interested in sustainability, and the chance to live in housing that shares that value and does something about it."

Then why are they growing slowly? "It can be difficult to find financing if your lender hasn't seen how stable and successful a collective housing co-op can be.  And it can be difficult to find the right building with the right zoning at the right price," Miller says. "So that explains the 'slowly,' but these organizations keep growing." 

Hannah Reischl, 22, is one of those who is keeping cooperative housing growing locally, now having twice opted to live there. Reischl says her first cooperative housing experience happened in Kalamazoo while she was a student at Kalamazoo College. In 2010 she met someone who was involved with the Kalamazoo Housing Collective, which owns Fletcher Collective, a home on Walnut Street, where she rented a room and lived with nine other residents.

"After graduating from (Kalamazoo College) last spring I got a position with Americorps at a community health center in Grand Rapids and decided to move here," Reischl says.

In November she moved into a 10,000-square-foot renovated mansion known as the James Russell House in the city's Vine Neighborhood. She and the home's 23 other residents each pay between $240 and $395 per month to rent single rooms. The average monthly room rent is about $370. Residents also each contribute $115 each month, which covers utilities and miscellaneous expenses, and the cost for food, which is mostly locally sourced or organic.

"As a young professional it's very empowering to know you're a co-owner of a property," Reischl says. "It's economic empowerment. We make decisions based on consensus and meet once a week with the whole group about anything to do with the house, like whether we should wait to fix boiler or put in new storm windows."

These meetings also serve as an opportunity to divide up house chores.

"We have a pretty elaborate labor system. If I cook dinner once a week, I don't have to vacuum," Reischl says.

Matthew Lechel, executive director of Kalamazoo Collective Housing, says these meetings represent democracy in action, which is a key component of collective housing. Residents control the governance of KCH. Six residents and four non-resident community trustees sit on its board of directors which oversees budgeting, staff, policymaking, and expansion. This democratic structure is created to empower residents to make key decisions about their housing.

Emily Fraser, 28, has lived in the KCH-owned Houston Place co-op apartments since 2011. Like Reischl, her experience with co-op living began while she was a student at Kalamazoo College.

"I was introduced to co-ops when I was part of an environmental organization in college," Fraser says. "We were pooling our resources, learning from each other, and having other people show us how to do things from a socially responsible aspect as well as a financial aspect."

She lived in Kalamazoo Collective Housing's Meristem residence for three years before moving to Houston Place.

"The way it is right now the apartment set up is a very new cooperative apartment and community," Fraser says. "We have meetings and share the outdoor space including the garden area and there's a lot of discussion around trying to figure out how to share meals. We hope to actually get something like that going."

The outdoor common space that is part of Houston Place Apartments connects it with KCH's Meristem property. Formerly a gravel lot filled with trash, the common area where residents recently hosted a barbecue for others in the Vine Neighborhood. 

This housing option began a number of years ago by Western Michigan University students who wanted to make their neighborhoods stronger and better. "They noticed a lot of slumlords and people not investing in their properties," Lechel says. "They had no ownership in where they were living and did research into housing collectives around the country."

Kalamazoo Collective Housing was founded in 2007 and now owns five properties, four of which were purchased within the last two years. The purchases fit with KCH's goal to grow rapidly through 2015.

North American Students of Cooperation's Miller, says collective housing co-ops can be very sturdy, thanks to their business model, and once established they tend to have staying power. "Once there's a seed from which to grow, they tend to get bigger," Miller says. "I think Kalamazoo Collective Housing is a great example of this -- a few years ago this was just an idea shared by a few talented young folks.

"First they rented a property to get started.  Then they got connected to other established co-ops, they put together a business plan, and they closed on their first house.  Now they have a paid staff position, and own or co-own several properties providing community-oriented affordable housing."

The properties owned by Kalamazoo Housing Cooperative are a mixture of private apartments and single bedrooms with shared living space which are popular with college students and postgraduates.

Lechel says they have recently added single-family apartments to the mix. He says this fits with the Kalamazoo Collective Housing's mission to provide nonprofit, sustainable housing; empower people to create democratic cooperatives; and strengthen the community through shared resources and education.

As a nonprofit, Kalamazoo Housing Cooperative's model is somewhat unique in that it is the owner of the property rented to others. The cooperative aspects come in the way the properties are governed and the importance of residents in those governing decisions. Currently, residents have no financial equity in the homes.

Monthly rental rates in the housing collectives range from $370 to $490 depending on whether the room is a single or double occupancy. The rate for a one-bedroom apartment is about $526 and $646 for a two-bedroom.

Each home cost about $100,000 to purchase. Lechel says funding sources include money saved by Kalamazoo Collective Housing and grants from local foundations such as the Kalamazoo Community Foundation. The average renter stays for about 18 months, although some residents of Fletcher House have been there for four years.

"For five or six people it may not seem like it's making a big impact," Lechel says, "but hopefully we're making a generational impact. We think of these properties as having a 30 to 50 year impact."

Jane Parikh is a freelance writer with more than 20 years experience. A Kalamazoo native, she is now based in Battle Creek.