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BOULDER-Brownie Leach first came to the Silver Sage Village informational meetings to help her developer husband, Jim Leach, fill seats. It didn't take long, however, before she was sold on the concept of senior co-housing.
Most identify "the aging of America" with the chronological sequence of getting older and becoming more dependent on caregivers to maintain an acceptable quality of life. Independent living gives way to retirement communities, assisted-living facilities and, eventually, nursing homes.
But there's a strong senior movement that wants to maintain an active lifestyle and share in spiritual community. And Jim Leach is turning that movement into reality with Silver Sage Village, a senior co-housing community in North Boulder that is the first of its kind in the nation.
Leach has been a pioneer in co-housing projects since 1990 through his Boulder-based Wonderland Hill Development Company. He developed the first intergenerational community in Colorado with the 42-unit Nyland Cohousing community in Lafayette 13 years ago. At the time, Nyland was only the fourth co-housing project of its kind in the United States.
Co-housing got its roots in Denmark where, in the 1960s, people turned to each other to develop a community of spiritual growth and support. Co-housing incorporates the concept of individual living units with full amenities, similar to condominiums, linked to a common house where residents can share meals, cultural growth and common interests. Co-housing offers the benefits of home ownership as well as the communal...