Image of: A lush green residential scene shows a vibrant and well-maintained cohousing community. On the right side, a wooden sign reads “Village Cohousing Community,” surrounded by colorful flowers and dense greenery. A gray cat wearing a pink harness with a teal leash walks along a concrete path on the left side of the image. The path leads past a variety of plants toward charming, multi-unit homes with porches and balconies partially covered by climbing vines.
In May, Village Cohousing Community (VCC) and Madison Area Community Land Trust (MACLT) came together to celebrate a new partnership to preserve permanent affordability within the VCC neighborhood.
Affordable housing has long been a value at Village Cohousing Community (VCC), inspired by their founders, Art and Sue Lloyd. The Lloyds made sure that some of the original homes at VCC were affordable to low-income families by offering personal, interest-free loans to some of the original unit owners, which were repaid upon sale of their units. As Becca Schwartz, Co-President of VCC said, “This was extremely generous, but affordability only lasted for one generation.”
When the Lloyds passed away and bequeathed their home to VCC, the community recognized an opportunity to honor their legacy in a lasting way. Seeing the limitations of one-time investments in affordability, VCC pursued a relationship with MACLT to ensure the permanent affordability of the Lloyds’ unit. Together, we are making this home permanently affordable, ensuring that the VCC community can remain within reach to low-and moderate-income buyers for generations to come.
This is MACLT’s first condo unit inside an otherwise market-rate development. As a pilot, it opens doors for other condominiums and cohousing developments to consider partnerships with MACLT to increase the availability of more condo and cohousing homes for low-income buyers, where the unit can stay affordable forever.
This partnership is a meaningful milestone for both VCC and MACLT, and it serves as an inspiring example of how individuals and communities can take bold steps to preserve affordability and expand access to housing. We are honored to have worked with VCC and hope this sparks further collaborations in the years ahead. This collaboration was also supported by: the City of Madison, Wisconsin Partnership for Housing Development, and Threshold Builds.
Image of: Art & Sue Lloyd Village Cohousing Community (VCC) founders.
Image of: MACLT Executive Director Olivia Williams stands with a MACLT homebuyer and her daughter at the VCC Celebration, in front of MACLT’s new permanently affordable condo.