Virtual Tour
Welcome to Nyland Cohousing. Our homes were built in 1992 as one of the first cohousing communities in the US. We remain the largest at 42 homes with approximately 90 adults and 45 kids. Our homes are on 42 acres of land 6 miles east of Boulder in the town of Lafayette.
We’ll start in the big parking lot on the north side of Nyland Way. All of our cars are parked at the entrance to our community and we walk to our homes on pedways. Most homes have a carport and a small storage unit in this parking lot or in the upper lot. There is space for two cars per household that is not on "garage row."
The pedways were designed to encourage interaction between community members as they walk to and from their cars. We use garden carts and wagons to haul groceries and large items to our homes. For larger deliveries and emergencies, vehicles can drive down the pedways.
Our homes are a mix of single family, duplexes and triplexes. There are three basic floor plans and a few custom designs. Most of the homes have a basement, a main level and a large loft. The last several homes have sold between $400K and $600K. The homes on the north side of the north pedway are affectionately known as “garage row” as they have driving access to garages in the rear of their homes.
We are legally a townhouse association in that everyone owns their own home along with the land under and around their house. Backyards are considered private space. We have dues ranging from approximately $275-$400. Our dues are actually rather low once you consider they pay for our home owners insurance, exterior maintenance such as roofs and painting, and upkeep of our common areas such as the common house, woodshop, greenhouse and 42 acres of land.
To the west of Nyland, we have an amazing view of the Front Range and the Indian Peaks sections of the Rocky Mountains. The top most ridge is the Continental Divide and the tallest mountain to the right is Longs Peak in Rocky Mountain National Park. The Open Space field on the other side of the fence belongs to Boulder County and is part of the “green belt” around Boulder that should never be developed. It is leased to a farmer for grazing and growing hay. On the left is our central meadow, which is the site of many celebrations such as our Spring Egg Hunt, May Pole Dance, and just watching the sunset.
This is the Southwest Pedway. What color to paint our homes was a great debate in the early organizational meetings. It was finally decided that everyone could choose his or her own colors every 7 years when we have every house in the community repainted .
Our Common House serves as a focal point for the community. This is where we have our meetings, our common meals, our celebrations, our concerts, our yoga classes, etc. We rent out the large rooms for conferences and gatherings.
The main floor has the community kitchen where we often prepare meals for community dinners and events.
The main floor also has the community dining room where we have community meals once to twice a week. This is also where we have community meetings, parties, concerts, movie nights, etc.
Also on the main floor is a young kids' playroom where the kids can play together after dinner or parents can host a playgroup.
The lower level of the Common House has a game room, a laundry room, a craft room, a multipurpose room, a workout room, a mailroom and two guest rooms. Our homes were designed smaller with the idea that guests and larger gatherings could be accommodated in the Common House.
We’ll exit the Common House and cross the circle back to the big parking lot. From here we will head north through the lot to the basketball court.
Next to the basketball court is a sand volleyball court.
Just north of the basketball court is a kids' playground.
The woodshop has large working spaces, saws and both private and shared tools. The smaller side section holds our lawn mowers, tractors, etc.
The greenhouse and community garden are places where individuals can work their own piece of dirt while enjoying the company of others. We have agreed to use organic methods and not to use chemicals on the gardens, our yards or our community land.
Our fields have been planted with native grasses in an attempt to return them to their natural state.
We each join in on a four-hour, land workday twice a year to help take care of our property. This is a great time to catch up with a neighbor as you pull weeds or plant a new tree.
This brings us to the end of our virtual tour.