- Available Unit Status
- BCC's Upcoming Online Events
- Cohousing Roundtable on Feb 27
- Triangle Business Journal's Article on BCC!
- A Look Back at 2020
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Unit 306
3 bedrooms, 2 baths,
1295 sq. ft.
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These units are priced below comparable newly constructed condos going up near downtown Durham
(based on construction planning phase estimates)
Move-in is planned for Fall 2021
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Information Sessions
Information Sessions are where you learn the facts: the What, Why, When, Where, and How
- Saturday, January 2, 1-2pm ET, via Zoom
- Tuesday, January 19, 7-8pm ET, via Zoom
- Or at a time convenient to you!
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Coffee Hours
The Coffee Hour is an agenda-free zone where we talk about whatever comes to mind at whatever speed we want to go.
- Saturday, January 2, 9-10am ET, via Zoom
- Saturday, January 30, 9-10pm ET, via Zoom
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Cohousing Roundtable on Feb 27
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America’s 21st Century Housing:
How Cohousing Can Help Fill the Unique Needs of Families, Seniors, LGBTQ and Single Households
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Saturday, February 27
12-1:30 pm ET
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Join us for a lively facilitated panel discussion on Zoom with residents from diverse cohousing communities in the Durham-Chapel Hill area.
Learn how cohousing is meeting individuals’ and families' unique needs for safety, community, emotional, social, and physical well-being while supporting environmental sustainability.
This is an opportunity to discover what it is like to live in unique intentional communities and how this intentionality is changing lives and the world for the better.
There will be ample time to ask questions and interact with our panel of guests.
You can find out more and register for the event on the BCC website.
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Triangle Business Journal's Article on BCC!
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So, yeah, this was a year we cannot forget and mostly wish we could. It was a year full of challenges that we as a community met and engaged with. With the result that -- despite what must be one of the wettest years in recent memory -- we are seeing our building going up and looking ahead to 2021 when we will MOVE IN to our new building and start our next phase of life as a community.
Before that, though: in the tradition of great end-of-year retrospectives from time immemorial, we present to you highlights from the Ghosts of Newsletters Past, ca. 2020:
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In January 2020, the Finishes Fixtures and Equipment (FFE) subcircle assembled samples of countertop styles and finishes, some cabinet style examples, and color options. This was the first of many "show & tell & select" events held through the year.
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Our intrepid videographer, Lise, doubled down on the video captures and began creating a series of short videos documenting both the site construction and our growth as a community. This early video shows Candace describing the advantages of the Trent Drive site. You can see more of Lise's videos on the BCC web site.
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This photo recorded our last in-person pre-Plenary get-together in February, at Geer Street Garden. March crashed into 2020 with two unusual, unexpected events: a malware attack that shut down the computer systems for City and County of Durham and -- of course -- the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.
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All gatherings and information sessions "pivoted" to Zoom-based calls and events. In March, we entered the bidding and permit phases of the project timeline, and cleared the Trent Drive lots. The groundwork had begun!
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This is our lot on Trent Drive as it looked in April, with the structures and two large trees cleared. It will look a lot different by the end of this newsletter.
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At one of our first community Zoom calls, Susan asked everyone to share a word that helped sustain them through the many years of ups, downs, setbacks, successes, and uncertain times. Susan took those words and fashioned them into a word cloud that adorns the back of our own Bull City Commons t-shirts. What were the words? Answers on the BCC blog.
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By June, we agreed to final terms of our construction contract with RESOLUTE Building Company, which signaled a major milestone. Hiccups were in store -- the City’s Department of Water Management told Weinstein Friedlein Architects (WFA) and RESOLUTE that they needed to move the location of our backflow preventer to meet code requirements -- but still, the hard part was behind us.
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On July 3 -- even though the Tonka trucks were not yet on the site -- we felt it was time to acknowledge the years of discussion, deliberation, planning, successes, and setbacks that got us to where we are.
Some energetic members plunged ahead and organized a "ceremonial groundbreaking/groundblessing." Videographer Lise and Drone Master General David captured the event highlights.
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August was go, go, GO. We received our building permit, closed on our construction loan, and RESOLUTE Building Company (RBC) started actual work on our new home!
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RESOLUTE finished September a week ahead of schedule, with all but one of our building's footings excavated and poured, and 90% of the below-ground walls completed. Our thanks to September for giving us lots of sunny days!
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Despite the physical progress on our new home, the year still seemed to drag on. Our October newsletter featured responses from our members to the question, "How have your BCC relationships sustained you during the pandemic?" You can read what our members said, and read also about how metalworks artist Jackie McLeod lost something and found it again.
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Oh, majestic girders, we hail thee! RESOLUTE started erecting the steel framing for the first floor of our building in October. After finishing the steel work, RBC would move on to pour the first and second floor concrete slabs.
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We also spiffed out our virtual real estate with an update to the Bull City Commons web site. Our new site features snazzy photo galleries, a streamlined design, and refreshed (not just recycled!) content. It serves as the digital hub for all of our events, promotions, and online activities. Give it a look-see!
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Scroll back up to that picture of the empty lot as it looked in April. Then scroll back down here and see David's drone as it swoops around, over, and through our site, capturing how it looked toward the end of 2020.
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BCC's ad on Cohousing.org hosts a great one-page description of the project, our Durham NC neighborhood, and our available units.
Please forward this link to friends or contacts you think may be interested in our cohousing adventure.
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