Ralston Creek Cohousing

Description:

Life in Colorado is indeed beautiful, but finding housing can be a challenge, not to mention finding an ideally located intentional community with strong, progressive values. But here’s a possibility – Ralston Creek Cohousing (RCCH) is looking for members!

We are forming an urban-based, green living community that offers attractive, sustainable homes. Our net-zero energy units utilize heat pump technology and solar energy to replace fossil fuels. RCCH members seek an environmentally conscious lifestyle where both families and singles will thrive in community. We’ll cook meals, socialize, grow organic fruit and vegetable gardens, tend our goats and share our lives together.

Ralston Creek Cohousing will be built in an exceptional location, with lifestyle choices available for all ages. We will be part of the GEOS Neighborhood in the town of Arvada, with quick access to Denver’s cultural amenities and the Colorado Rocky Mountain wilderness. Set along the Ralston Creek Trail, members will live in a rural setting with an urban vibe. Old Town Arvada offers a summer Farmer’s Market, local independent shops, and restaurants. Within a few miles, the Arvada Center offers art, music, dance, theater and classes for all ages while multiple recreation centers cover all aspects of sport, fitness and aquatic classes, and drop-in opportunities. Multiple grocery stores, restaurants, banks, and large-format retailers are also close by.

Next, imagine a modern village powered by solar and heat pump technology. Neighborhood residents will enjoy the mix of town homes, row houses and single-family dwellings, while RCCH members will live in a condominium building with private and shared space. This will be just one of the many styles of cohousing in the Denver metro area, a lifestyle that is growing in popularity among Coloradans searching for cooperation and shared activities within their living arrangements.

The RCCH units will be in a three-story building called “The Gatehouse”, with 20 private homes ranging from studios to 1 or 2 bedrooms, and underground parking. The common house, easily accessible on the first floor, will provide a professional kitchen, with multi-purpose space for dining, meeting, projects, and socializing. Members will also enjoy access to two guest bedrooms, bike storage, an outdoor courtyard, a community garden, an electric car share, and a dog-friendly exercise area. With all of these features, residents will be able to downsize without sacrificing amenities they enjoyed previously. Our desire is to exchange larger individual yards for a shared courtyard, vegetable gardens and pocket parks.

We have chosen Geos as the ideal partner for this exciting cohousing project that fuses the best of intentional neighborhoods, green technology, and healthy living. For those who crave physical activity, the Ralston Creek Trail is right outside our door. RCCH will be unique among national communities, as we create cohousing in this walkable, mixed use, solar and heat pump technology energy neighborhood.

The city of Arvada has a long history in Colorado’s Front Range. The first documented discovery of gold in the Rocky Mountain region was in Arvada in June of 1850. Lewis Ralston found a quarter ounce of gold near the mouth of what we now call Ralston Creek. As Ralston Creek flows through Arvada, the Ralston Creek Trail follows it to Clear Creek – giving residents access to this 13.6 mile long hiking, biking, and equestrian trail.

Cohousers do a lot of things together, which is great, but RCCH residents won’t have a tough time getting away from the community for business or pleasure. The site is 29 minutes from Boulder and the flagship campus of the University of Colorado, 14 minutes from Golden, and 37 minutes from downtown Denver by car. Plus, it’s only 11 minutes from the Wheat Ridge G-line Rail station. The G-line arrives at Union Station Denver in just 25 minutes, where you can enjoy Denver’s big-city atmosphere and activities – music, professional sports, eateries and taverns, public events galore – without the need to find or pay for parking.

The current members (nine full member households and two explorer members) are an eclectic group, with diverse backgrounds, work experiences and talents. We all share a desire to be part of an intentional community. Three to five more like-minded families making the necessary financial commitment will allow an architect to design The Gatehouse.

Currently, we have met a roadblock with acquiring land in the neighborhood. We are not sure if we will be able to go forward. Until that becomes clear, we maintain our website and mailing list and give tours of the neighborhood. If you want to hear more about this, e-mail or call us.