Hunting for improved real estate for a large intentional community
For most of the last decade, I have been interested in buying a large property with existing improvements, both residential in nature and otherwise, to establish an intentional community of perhaps 50-200 people. I actually did buy a 25-acre 42-bedroom Victorian estate to start pursuing a smaller version of this plan. For various reasons, my search continued during and still in parallel with the wind down of that project. What I'm looking for is rare, but not impossible to find, so I think it could be useful to write this all down. Perhaps this will bring some leads my way.
Why existing improvements? They are much cheaper than new construction. They are often better in many ways than current zoning and other codes will allow to be built. That includes size, construction methods and materials, combination of uses, positioning on a parcel, and many other factors. They are available now instead of years later. They won't require review or approval processes, from local government or neighbors. In some cases they have historical meaning that wouldn't exist in something new, such as the work of a particular architect or artist, or association with some notable period or event.
There are a few categories of properties that tend to have some to most to all of the features I am looking for. Most that have caught my interest have been schools, either boarding high schools or small colleges. Some have been religious institutions or medical facilities. A few have been campgrounds, retreat centers, military facilities, jails, and weirder options. It is relatively easy to search for some of those categories separately, but not all together and never also filtering for the other factors that I am looking to find or avoid. So, to that end, here are most of the important variables I am considering:
Residential amenities should be sufficient for at least 50 people, preferably many more. Dorms are cheap and often found in schools and colleges. Apartment buildings aren't out of the question, and sometimes exist at colleges and military installations. Individual houses tend to be prohibitively expensive, but buying a neighborhood or small town isn't out of the question. I want room for enough people to have a village of the sort where many needs can be met locally. Larger scale means we could have our own mechanics, teachers, electricians, etc. With room for enough families, children can have local peers, and local schooling becomes more viable.
Non-residential amenities are also important. I am looking for facilities that have classrooms, large indoor activity spaces like a gymnasium, auditoriums or a theater, fabrication shops, auto maintenance space, large scale kitchens, etc. Having access to these things will advance many components of the larger plan. Each of them can be used for people to start small businesses and earn a living. Each can facilitate educational opportunities. They will allow for various recreational and hobby activities, including hosting events. There will be significant savings meeting the needs of the community due to pooling resources to have access to these amenities.
Unimproved land, at least tens of acres, preferably hundreds. This is the criterion that shifts the most with proximity to a city; a hundred acres in Montana will cost less than one acre in Alameda County. Some of this will be used for agriculture, which might fall anywhere along the spectrum from food forest permaculture to industrial farming. Some will be used for camping, hiking, possibly swimming, and other outdoor nature activities. Some will probably eventually be used for expansion; starting with existing improvements doesn't mean we won't build more five, ten, or twenty years down the road.
As mentioned, proximity to a city is important, the bigger the better. Cities mean access to culture and opportunities that won't be found elsewhere. A city would mean a much larger pool of potential participants for classes, events, etc. I won't find the rest of this list in downtown SF or NYC, but I have found most of it at the edge of those cities' transit networks. I'm open to being 10 minutes by bike then 90 minutes by train from Grand Central Station, and I have found appealing properties at that distance. Transit from my current place to Boston costs $12 and takes about 3 hours; the price is ok but the time is too much. Other cities will do, even if they are less appealing to me personally; my recent short list includes properties close to Portland, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, and St Louis.
Long term sustainability is a major factor that shows up in a few different ways. A natural water supply is a major selling point. Good weather for farming (not too dry) and solar power (not too cloudy) are important. Locations away from climate change risk (rising temperatures, rising oceans) are significantly preferable. Forests are nice, but buildings in forests in wildfire territory are not. Good soil and lack of industrial pollutants are also something I'm looking for. These are all things that are of some benefit immediately, and will have huge value in more disastrous potential futures.
Much less individually important, but still important overall, is the variety of non-residential amenities. I'm looking for educational facilities like classrooms and labs and auditoriums. Recreational amenities like sports fields and theaters. Practical facilities like shops, kitchens, barns, etc. Existing agricultural space such as farm fields, orchards, and vineyards. The perfect property would have a wide variety of types and sizes of all of these categories. A property with only residential improvements, like an apartment complex, is almost entirely unappealing.
Price is, of course, a major factor. If I can do this at a large enough scale successfully, I suspect I would be able to find significant financial support for a second iteration of the project, but that doesn't help the first time at a new scale. Left to my own devices, I'm looking at places in the $1-2M price range. Hoping to find some amount of financing, I have considered properties with list prices of up to $5M. This cuts out a lot of the most exciting options, but still leaves plenty that can work.
At this point, you might think this list is impossibly specific and unrealistic. To hopefully address that expected response, I'm going to describe a few properties that I have at least been very interested in, some of which I have pursued, one of which I bought:
25 acres, 42 bedrooms (split between Victorian mansion and modern dormitory), 10k sqft of function/activity space, small garage, historic gardens. 3 hours from city center by transit or 50 minutes by car, walking distance to small town amenities. $1.4M sale price 54 acres, 150 bedrooms (mostly dorms), 200k sqft of function/activity space, orchard, vineyard, 3gal/s deeded spring water rights, waste water treatment facility, sports fields, 30 minutes from city center by car. $2M sale 123 acres, 42 one-bedroom apartments, common function and recreation spaces, spa. Forest trails, adjacent to state game land with public walking access to the Appalachian Trail. 90 minutes by car or 2 hours by transit to city centers. $3M listing price 47 acres, ~100 bedrooms (mostly dorms), classrooms, offices, commercial kitchen, dining facilities. 20 minutes by car or 60 minutes by bus to city center. $3.3M listing 155 acres, ~350 bedrooms (mostly dorms), 400k sqft function/activity space, classrooms, offices, labs, gyms, shops, farm, greenhouses, gyms, sports fields. 90 minutes from city center by car, walking distance to small town amenities. $4.5M sale 123 acres, 89 1-2 bedroom homes, a decommissioned military installation that's basically a whole town with the relevant facilities and utilities. $4.9M sale. 225 acres, ~300 bedrooms (mostly dorms), 200k sqft function/activity space across 20 buildings, no deferred maintenance, small college amenities. 3 hours from city center by car. $5M listing
If you ever come across a property that seems like it might be a fit, I'd love to hear about it. Whenever I find a new property that even moderately aligns with these goals, I post it to a channel on the CoDwell Discord (https://discord.gg/Dph5zk32Y). If you want to know more about my plans for my next project and community, there's a bit of insight into one possible version of that at http://CoDwell.org. While my funds are tied up right now, that server and site are mostly idle. However, I intend to kick things back into gear as soon as I'm ready to coordinate efforts on my next big project. Hang out there or watch here for my later posts if you want to know more.