Redwood Collective
c/o Greg Jalbert
2409 Parker #2
Berkeley, CA 94704
(510) 848-4653
Owner Address
25 February, 2001
Dear Owner,
I am writing you on behalf of the Redwood Collective, an incorporated mutual-benefit nonprofit in Berkeley. The general mission of our group is to create and promote collective housing. Currently our challenge is to purchase a property that will be used for a cooperative group house of 10-15 individuals. We have been shopping in the Berkeley/Oakland office listings for large houses, which is how we have found you. Perhaps you have considered selling your house located at (property address), or are presently renting it with the intention of selling in a few years. If you are, and are willing to sell, we are amenable to a rent-to-buy or a convenient as-is sale.
We are hoping to settle on a property sometime during the spring of 2001. If selling or renting your property to the Redwood Collective is a possibility, we would love to hear from you.
A brief description of our objectives promoting collective housing is on the back side of this letter. More information about us is also on the web at www.geocities.com/redwoodcollective, and you are welcome to contact us by mail, phone, or email at [email protected].
Kind Regards,
Redwood Collective Co-Founder
The Redwood Collective
Community Living, Affordable Housing
You may be aware of some of the housing trends in the Bay Area. The market, currently a majority of small-single family homes, is competitive and accompanied by a growing number of apartments and condos. The demand is so high that the practice of partitioning large houses for multiplex rental is common. Here at the Redwood Collective, we are looking to embrace and mediate these changes, hoping, in a cooperative residential enterprise, to build a structure akin to the once-common multigenerational multifamily house.
Our goal is to design a structure that will create permanently affordable cooperative housing available to a broad spectrum of communally inclined people. The house will not belong to the residents, per se, but the Redwood Collective, however, after a 6-month trial period, a resident can become a member and co-director of the collective. Rent, or "dues" as the bylaws state, will, before the house is paid, go towards the mortgage, and afterwards, towards starting other like-minded nonprofits. Our vision and enthusiasm stem from our experience with the economies of scale and ecological advantages that come with groups sharing resources, the healthy traditions and creative liveliness that develop from living with other people, and the exchange and social benefits of coming home to a diverse community.
So far, we have established the groundwork for this organization; with a core member group of 5 - 7, we have reviewed our legal structure, financial plan, and loan proposal. Much of this information is available for viewing at our website: www.geocities.com/redwoodcollective.
Our near goal is finding a large many-bedroom house to buy and start our cooperative. If you have questions about, comments for, or a desire to make a contribution to the Redwood Collective, please contact us.
Redwood Collective
c/o 2409 Parker St. #2
Berkeley, CA 94704
(510) 848-4653
[email protected]