Stillwater's independent living, cohousing community celebrates 10 years

Oct. 29—Oakcreek Community on 1810 N. Husband St. in Stillwater celebrated its 10th year in existence this past Thursday. Guests were invited to an anniversary party, and many of those who helped the community throughout the years were in attendance.

The senior cohousing community had much to celebrate, and Pat Darlington and Kay Stewart were eager to talk about the years they've spent on the property.

They had been interested in starting a senior cohousing community in Stillwater. Their passion was building a community where they could live in close harmony with other seniors and maintain a community that cared for and supported one another.

"We found this single house with 7.5 acres, and we thought, could we build a community there?," said Stewart. "Our hearts jumped a beat."

Darlington shared her own response to the discovery of the land. She felt naive about the whole process, she said, but she knew "somebody is going to build something like this."

Grace Provence, a realtor at FP Realtors, steered them to this property.

"They were really lucky," Provence said. "It's rare to find a piece of land (like this)."

Helen Cole and Margaret Collins, sisters of Mark Schatz, who owned the house originally and who were the executors of his estate, agreed to hold the mortgage on the single house and the accompanying acreage.

At the start, seven bankers refused to back the project, even though Darlington and Stewart had assembled a professional plan.

"Imagine this scenario," said Stewart. "Two middle-aged women sit in a banker's office, wanting to borrow $4.6 million."

It was a daring, risky adventure, but one for which they had prepared. One banker decided to call them back. That was Dwight Haman at Exchange Bank.

"He told the board that this might be something to look into," said Stewart.

"(We're) really grateful for Dwight," said Darlington.

His initial belief in the project and the board's willingness to back the project gave Stewart and Darlington the confidence to move forward.

Ten people signed personal guarantees and borrowed $2.7 million, to be paid within a year.

"We were on the hook," said Stewart.

Pay it back they did, with 20 percent up front in cash they developed the property themselves so that they didn't have to pay a developer.

The original house on the property became the common house, expanded to twice its size. It holds common dining rooms and a kitchen, bathrooms, laundry facilities, an office with a printer and fax machine, mailboxes, extra rooms for guests who happen to visit, and a small space for tools.

"The house is not a community center," said Stewart. "It's a common house," she stressed.

It's a hub for much of the activity of the owners and where they first met to plan how the community would function. Its style boasts clean lines and light wood after the Danish style. Here is where they decided every detail of the community, from the way of life to the activities, to how much they'd interact and even who would take out the trash.

"The point of cohousing is social interaction," said Darlington. "It's spontaneous, yet private."

Even in the common house, there are spaces for private conversation. The ceiling in the dining room and living room is made with tectum, highly durable panels made of Aspen wood fibers held together with a cement-like binder. This cuts down on the surrounding noise so the owners can hear each other better.

Community meals are held every five days, with owners having the option to gather. There's a happy hour held on Thursday, frequent team meetings and bring-your-own dinner option on Fridays.

"During COVID, people brought their own dishes," said Darlington. "We kept doing that later because it was easier and less time-consuming."

Building community is what Oakcreek is all about. They've worked hard to build a finely-tuned community that combines optional activities with space for privacy.

They also have unique ways of letting each other know when they want community and when they don't. "(If I'm at) the backside of the house, that means leave me alone," said Stewart. "If I'm on the porch, it means I'm open to talking."

Not only does sustainability remain a main goal of the cohousing community, but also a concept called "right-size" living.

"There's not a lot of room for extra stuff," said Darlington. They stress the importance of downsizing and not holding onto stuff. There's space for what they need and a place for everything.

Inside the houses, light is the main feature. With high ceilings and wide windows that reach to the top of the walls, light brings a cheery aspect to each room. Other features include wide doors for roll-ins (walkers and wheelchairs), honeycomb shades for insulation, shelves in the closet that are 12 inches deeper, cutting down on the need for dressers.

Before leaving the house, Stewart has to share another feature — the blinds. They're yet another signal for owners to share a code with each other.

"Closed blinds means I'm busy, don't bother me," said Stewart. "Blinds closed halfway means I'm busy, but available."

Darlington can't help sharing one more code.

"Crooked blinds means I've had too much happy hour," she said, laughing.

Cohousing has a way of allowing owners to bring each other up.

"(It) lifts your standard," said Darlington. "Others bring things to the table."

With ages ranging between 55 years and 96 years old, there's plenty of wisdom to draw from.

"You can ask others what to do because someone probably has experience," said Stewart.

Everyone gains from the shared experience. Oakcreek has multiple retired teachers and several nurses, along with varied other professions.

Owner Steve Tweedie and his wife Pat have been with the cohousing community from the beginning.

"We have care partners who help with shopping or emergencies," said Pat Tweedie. Neighbors used to help each other out back in the day, she said. "It's so disparate nowadays."

On Feb. 16, 2010, they purchased the single house with accompanying 7.5 acres.

Builder Scott Campbell said it was one of the first projects he worked on. "It was very interesting, but an awesome project," Campbell said. "I was grateful that they trusted me to do it. It's a neat property, the way the land lays and the trees we were able to salvage."

The foremost thought for this in-depth project was green living and sustainability. The goal is to live lighter on the planet.

The 18-month project included a common house at the front of the property, 24 homes situated into 3 pods, walking paths, car garages situated near the front of the property, a geothermal well with a cistern of three tanks containing 5,100 gallons, a pump connected to the well for collecting water from the roofs and sending it back to irrigate the land. A garden, compost pile, and a path with a deck and chairs were placed by the creek.

Each family or individual owns their own property, and one and twenty-fourths of the common house. They do not own the land beneath the houses, but have "exclusive use" for in front and behind houses. Each front porch is built within 27-35 feet of each other, so that they can check on each other daily while maintaining privacy.

Sustainable materials were used for the homes and the foundations were built from the fill from raising the back of the property 7 feet so they wouldn't have such a steep incline. This made the foundations stronger, in addition to preserving the view from the back of the common house, which extends to the creek.

Sustainability is a huge part of what makes the community work as it does. With 100 oak trees on the property, the goal was to keep as many of them as possible. Many of them remain on the property.

With four different floor plans, each family or individual has plenty of options to choose from based on their preferences and needs.

Oakcreek Community is one of only six cohousing communities in the United States. The roots of cohousing communities are deeply entwined in Denmark's culture, and the concept was brought to America by Charles Durett in the 1980s.

"We absolutely would not be here without him," said Pat Darlington.

Their development consultant, Katie McCamant knew everything there was to know about the financial aspect of cohousing.

"She walked us through, well, everything," said Darlington. "She kept us on-budget and on-time. She was an invaluable fount of knowledge and wisdom."

The 10 who had committed to the project met for a "Get-It-Built Workshop" in April 2010, led by Charles Durrett, architect for The Cohousing Company he manages. Durrett is also the author of The Senior Cohousing Handbook: A Community Approach to Independent Living.

"Here were 40 seniors who took charge of their eldership and decided what they were going to do," Durrett said. "That's profound. (They said), we're in charge, we're going to do it our way."

With Durrett's help, the original owners discussed each detail of the design, with the goal in mind to focus on their values and vision. The group of 10 split into two groups, came up with their own site design ideas, then met together to revise their plans into one.

Darlington and Stewart certainly have much to be proud of as they reach their ten-year anniversary. They're considered the "burning souls" of the development. However, they agree that everyone at Oakcreek Community, both former and current owners, made this happen.

"It was great, hard work," said Darlington. "We've brought financial capital and social contribution to Stillwater."

Exchange Bank President Andrea Bendele agrees.

"Exchange Bank is proud to have been part of this project from inception to the current 10-year anniversary. It's remarkable and exciting to see the continued success of this community," said Bendele. "Oakcreek is helping (to) retain individuals in Stillwater as well as attracting new homeowners to our community. Stillwater is fortunate to have Oakcreek, which provides such strong support and commitment to its homeowners and our community."

"We want Stillwater to be its best," said Stewart.

Darlington and Stewart agree that cohousing is not for everyone.

"We work at letting (owners) know what they're getting into when they come. Some haven't stayed."

But for those who have, the effort and hard work have paid off.

"When I walk onto the Oakcreek property, I think, 'these people figured it out,'" said Durrett.

And, he adds, "Seniors who know what they want can move mountains."