Wyoming Community Media is coordinating a multidisciplinary collaborative mixed use development project in the Hynds Building. Click on the Hynds Building image to read the business plan.
Be careful what you ask! As a part of a Wyoming Arts Council Community Arts Partnership grant proposal that was approved last year, Wyoming Community Media (WCM) is investigating an ambitious creative economy mixed use, diverse housing project in Downtown Cheyenne. The Hynds Building Project is envisioned to include 20 universally accessible single family owner occupied homes, of which 10 are permanently affordable owner occupied homes and two floors of civic – commercial – office – retail uses.
The Hynds Building Project business plan information is available on line. Because a large amount of public funding will be sought, WCM wants the project to be transparent with information readily available.
The Hynds Building Project is in a preliminary stage with initial community partners being those who have discussed various aspects of similar projects in the recent past. The first grant application to fund a portion of the “utility core” was submitted to the City of Cheyenne for a HUD Community Development Block Grant. The utility core is planned to be built on land owned by the city of Cheyenne and be the location for certain public improvements such as water – wastewater service, electrical, elevators and stairs to serve not only the Hynds Building but an incentive for development in the adjacent vacant lot. Even if the Hynds Building Project doesn’t happen, the utility core is necessary to attract business and commercial uses into the vacant space.
The Harry P. Hynds Building New Creative Community (Hynds Building Project) has as its mission to develop a mixed-use cohousing community consisting of diverse owner-occupied affordable to market rate live – work homes to incubate the new creative economy integrated with office uses for Laramie County Community College (LCCC), civic – classroom – gallery spaces and service retail to serve the greater neighborhood and at the same time protect the public health and safety in a neighborhood that is the location of a huge open pit resulting from a structure destroyed by fire and an historic building built in 1911 that has fallen into disrepair and largely vacant for the past 26 years.
The Hynds Building Project pursues its mission through a multidisciplinary public/private partnership. The collaborative approach will result in a diverse cohousing mixed-use development Housing is the bridge between creative community development and traditional economic development. There are hundreds of cohousing communities around the world, as financial efficiency and environmental sustainability become important lifestyle factors. Cohousing community members know who lives nearby because they may eat common meals together, decide how to allocate homeowners dues and accept a carpool ride.
From a broad perspective, the need is evident. According to the “City of Cheyenne 3-5 year plan – 2004 to 2009″ (The Plan) residential housing in Cheyenne has an average selling price of $136,139, and rural housing is averaging $216,344. This range creates a challenge for low and moderate-income families to become homeowners. The cohousing approach successfully nurtures a diverse housing mix. As for rental housing, The Plan says, “that an estimated 28.7% of Cheyenne residents are unable to afford a one- or two-bedroom apartment without assistance.”
Finding and retaining affordable living/workspaces is an age-old problem for artists, and creative businesses. Such artists and businesses gravitate to old warehouses and other industrial buildings. Their very presence in a developing neighborhood often acts as a catalyst, setting in motion the undesirable process of gentrification that drives rents up and forces the artists out. Cohousing minimizes this potential by utilizing a strong sense of community building and builds permanence and equity through home ownership. Cohousing is a type of collaborative housing in which residents actively participate in the design and operation of their own neighborhoods. The physical design encourages both social contact and individual space. Private homes contain all the features of conventional homes, but residents also have access to extensive common areas.
These positive impacts identified by Cohousing USA create vibrancy and distinguish cohousing from other collaborative housing.
1. Participatory process. The Hynds Building Project residents participate in the design of their community so that it meets their needs. Typical speculative housing communities are driven by a developer’s vision. In such cases, the residents will have less input into the design. The physical layout and orientation of the building floor plan encourages a sense of community – for example, when the owner-occupied residences are clustered and have their doors opening into a shared space. Cohousing dwellings typically face each other across a walkway. What far outweighs any specifics is the intention to create a strong sense of community, with design as one of the facilitators.
2. Neighborhood design. Cohousing in the Hynds Building Project will not only be affected by the community design, but the cohesive nature of the community creates more vibrancy in the exterior neighborhood when community members decide to enjoy a night out at a restaurant or take in music at the Civic Center.
3. Common facilities. Common facilities are designed for daily use, are an integral part of the community, and are always supplemental to the private homes. The common spaces typically include a common kitchen, dining area, sitting area, laundry, and also may contain a library, exercise room, crafts room and in some cases a guest room that may be reserved by other cohousing community members for visitors.
4. Resident management. Residents manage their own cohousing communities, and also perform much of the work required to maintain the property. They may participate in the preparation of common meals, community celebrations and meet regularly to solve problems and develop policies for the community.
5. Non-hierarchical structure and decision-making. Leadership roles naturally exist in cohousing communities, however no one person (or persons) has authority over others. Most groups start with one or two “burning souls.” As people join the group, each person takes on one or more roles consistent with his or her skills, abilities or interests. Most cohousing groups make all of their decisions by some form of consensus, and, although many groups have a policy for voting if the group cannot reach consensus after a number of attempts, it is rarely or never necessary to resort to voting.
6. No shared community economy. A cohousing community is not a commune with any common ownership or a source of income. However either, through an owners’ association determine which common tasks are better contracted out or performed by community members. There may be additional income to the association which may derive from leased retail space and/or rental of common areas.
Potential Collaborators - The Hynds Building Project is part of a larger portfolio of strategies to change the trajectory of your community, To date, the major preliminary partners in the project include:
City of Cheyenne – Utilities need to be upgraded to current building code standards. The city has designed an innovative utility corridor to serve the Hynds Building Project and the adjacent vacant lot. The initial utility corridor price tag is high. WCM is helping develop lower cost options in collaboration with the city of Cheyenne. The utility corridor is key to developing the Hynds Building Project (Potential Funding Sources: HUD CDBG, Wyoming State Land Investment Board, Wyoming Business Council)
Wonderland Hill Development – WHD is a nationally known cohousing developer based in Boulder, CO and will facilitate the cohousing community building aspect of the live-work homes. Diverse owners can incubate artistic and creative businesses. (Financing: private banks TBD, Wyoming Community Development Authority, Cheyenne first time homebuyer funds and down payment assistance programs, Cheyenne Housing Authority)
Laramie County Community College – Offers its New Creative Economy Entrepreneurship Curriculum classroom offerings. The Hynds Building could develop into a downtown extension campus venue. Wyoming Community Media teaches its Lights Camera Action! story telling and video production classes in the Hynds Building.
LightsOn! Downtown Group – Manages the Hynds project ground floor civic/gallery space. There is an international artist in residence program envisioned for the space. LightsOn! keeps a presence in the Hynds ground floor by opening the doors during the monthly Art Design and Dine gallery walks and for their own special events. The space is also available for civic uses for private parties and events for a rental charge.
Wyoming Community Media – Program operational funds provided byWyoming Film Office, Wyoming Arts Council, Cheyenne DDA, Visit Cheyenne underwrite the Cheyenne International Film Festival, The Shoot Out Cheyenne 24 hour filmmaking festival, Lights Camera Action training programs and the FILM screenings downtown. The hope is WCM can have its offices and production facilities as part of the Hynds project.
The Hynds Building Project encourages art, culture and creativity powerfully expressed through place can create vibrant communities, thus increasing the desire and the economic opportunity for people to thrive in place. Learn more about the Hynds Building Project business plan.
