Here's some exciting news: The Treehouse Ecohousing Village is coming soon to Bridgewater, Nova Scotia, making it Atlantic Canada’s first co-housing community!

The Atlantic Region includes the Eastern provinces of Canada bordering the Atlantic Coast, such as  New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland / Labrador.

These provinces have more recently been known as the "Atlantic Bubble", a contained and controlled area created during the summer of 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Outside of periodic closures within the bubble to contain the virus's spread, it has allowed provincial residents to travel freely within this geography while restricting entry to people outside of this area. Family and second homeowners wishing to travel to the Atlantic Bubble are subjected to screening and are required to quarantine for 14 days before moving freely amongst the bubble. Individual provinces have specific rules toward travelers from outside of Atlantic Canada. The provinces in the bubble have seen the lowest numbers of COVID-19 compared to other locations throughout the pandemic, making it one of the safest largest geographies in the world from Covid-19.

 

 

Atlantic Canada’s First Co-Housing Community: Treehouse Village

Located at 54 Pearl St, Bridgewater, each family in the Treehouse Village will be living in one of the thirty private dwellings that range from one-bedroom to three-bedroom models.

Each home will be sustainable and energy-efficient which adds to the allure of the already enticing Treehouse Village as these attributes will cut down on the regular costs associated with owning a house.

The community will also feature a 4,100 square foot common house that has “a large kitchen and dining room for shared meals, a playroom, a lounge with a fireplace, an outdoor patio, a laundry room, a library/co-working space, a fitness room/yoga studio, mailboxes, a recycling station and two guest bedrooms that families can book for hosting company.”

One family, in particular, describes Treehouse Village as a “community designed by its members, investing in their own future”. 

 

 

 

 

Recently, the Treehouse House community was featured on The Weather Network! Take a look below at their virtual tour to get a sense of what it will be like to live in this exciting community:

 

 

Video courtesy of The Weather Network

 

So, what exactly is cohousing? The concept was initially founded about fifty years ago born in the country of Denmark and typically consists of: 

- Multiple fully-equipped, privately owned homes designed using a participatory process with the future homeowners.
- A site planned and arranged in a way that encourages interaction and community-oriented living, with gardens, walkways, and play-areas.
- Shared amenities, usually in a Common House, such as a large kitchen, a dining room, gym or multi-purpose room, library, or guest suites.

As seen on the Treehouse Village website,  although there are still houses available for purchase, 50% of the ecohouses are already sold! Construction is to begin in the Spring of 2021.

 

 

Many of the families have already moved to the Bridgewater area to begin designing the Treehouse Village based on three core values that focus on the planet, neighbours, and themselves. And with COVID-19 derailing everyone’s imminent plans for the future, Treehouse Village’s purpose and values have actually gained the interest of more people as the co-housing community would make life a lot easier and less lonely during a pandemic.

I am so excited to see the final product of the Treehouse Village and how the cohousing community will design and navigate this new project throughout the pandemic and ever-evolving world! 

 

To learn more, keep an eye open on Treehouse Village for regular updates

 

If you're interested in reading additional stories about innovative community and co-housing, check out these articles on Houseporn.ca:

Multi-Generational Living, Co-Housing, & Laneway Dwellings Are Trending In Canada

Big Plans For Calgary’s Homes For Heroes Foundation

Housing Co-op In Downtown Toronto, Ontario By Teeple Architects

Atira Women’s Resource Centre In Vancouver Uses Recycled Shipping Containers For Community Housing

The Bain Housing Co-operative In Toronto, Ontario

 

Researched and written by Guhar Ullah, a graduate of BA Architectural Studies at the University of Toronto's John H Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design.