Lake Placid cooperative housing project seeks members

Nonprofits team up to facilitate affordable housing opportunity

By Tim Rowland

The Adirondack North Country Association is seeking a handful of individuals to oversee the design, financing and construction of the Lake Placid housing development in which they will eventually live. No experience necessary.

These five to 12 people, said Dani Delaini, entrepreneurial program director for ANCA, would be founders of a housing cooperative, a creative tool in the quest for affordable housing, in which inhabitants own and govern the properties in which they live, and do so more cheaply than they could on their own.

ANCA is teaming with the Cooperative Development Institute, an agency supporting cooperative endeavors throughout New England and upstate New York. Details of the project and information about housing co-ops were presented at an informational meeting this week at the Lake Placid Central School auditorium.

Housing cooperatives are owned by their resident-members, who have one share and one vote in the governance of the development. Often, members have private housing, but share common areas for recreation or commercial pursuits.

This would be the first CDI-supported cooperative housing project in the Adirondacks. It was made possible by the donation of 103 acres along the Chubb River by an anonymous giver who wanted most of the land to be preserved in its natural state, but also was concerned with the Park’s paucity of affordable housing. 

“We were brainstorming, and thought that a lot of what we were talking about sounded like a co-op,” said ANCA Executive Director Elizabeth Cooper.

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Housing co-ops generally benefit from some sort of tailwind, be it government assistance or private philanthropy, and CDI officials said the “unprecedented” gift of such a large amount of land will help make the project workable.

ANCA is a supporter of co-ops in the Adirondacks, most visibly represented by the successful transfer of Ward Lumber in Jay and Malone to employee ownership. Cooperative supporters believe the co-op model can keep locally run companies from being sold to corporations with no community loyalties, or from going out of business altogether when the owners retire.

If the housing co-op takes off, Cooper said it could be a model for other towns in the park.

Delaini encouraged interested individuals to contact ANCA to discuss the details. Those who participate will form a steering committee, and then formulate the project with expert help from CDI.

The project would move forward with the help and counsel of local governments and outside consultants, such as architectural students from MIT.

The scope and look of the development would be up to the steering committee. The housing itself could be in any form, from tiny houses to condos. The co-op itself could be relatively complex, formulated as a Permanent Real Estate Co-op that could manage a fund that would be open to outside investors and capable of managing multiple properties. Such a set-up would help co-op members accumulate wealth as the co-op’s investments paid off.

Or, it could be more simplistic, such as a Limited Equity Co-op that would come with income caps and focus on lower rents instead of reinvesting profits. 

Katherine Bessey, Director and Food Systems Specialist for CDI, said one model of a Limited Equity Co-op in operation has rents 30% below market averages.

While it might seem an ambitious endeavor, Margaret Miley, cooperative business director for CDI, said people with enthusiasm and entrepreneurial leanings can accomplish impressive results, building on each others’ strengths. “It’s amazing to see groups of people come together, bring their skills to bear and get it done,” she said.

ANCA will rerun an informational webcast about the housing co-op and field questions on Thursday, Sept. 8 at 7 p.m., and it will be available on ANCA’s YouTube channel. Details on upcoming learning sessions will be posted on ANCA’s website at adirondack.org.

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