Meet our Professional Team
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Alastair combines a technical background in architecture with experience managing large real estate developments for a global investor. Alastair seeks to build cohousing communities that foster social connection and enrich lives.
A graduate of Kathryn McCamant’s 500 Communities cohousing program, Alastair’s expertise encompasses design, financing, and construction. His approach emphasizes transparency and accountability, ensuring a smooth development process that aligns with the community's vision.
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Margaret spent twenty-five years as a professor of Social Anthropology at York University in Ontario. She first discovered the importance of community led housing through her field research with Vanuatu villagers in the South Pacific. A leading voice in academic cohousing discourse, Critchlow has authored and edited books on housing cooperatives, customary land tenure, colonial history, and development issues. Critchlow is now a community building facilitator at CDC and has lived at Harbourside Cohousing in British Columbia since it opened in 2016.
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Ronaye is the primary consultant at Cohousing Development Consulting (CDC), an expert development management firm, where she has guided eleven cohousing projects to completion. After earning a degree in Environmental Studies from the Faculty of Architecture at the University of Manitoba, Matthew spent her early career working with diverse residential developers in Alberta and British Columbia. In 1996, she shifted gears to cohousing development and never looked back. She has lived at Cranberry Commons in British Columbia since its completion in 2001
Our Local Cohousing Projects
Harbourside Cohousing
Sooke, BC
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The project mandate was to be a neighbourhood of strata-titled housing for people in the second half of life that would be affordable, environmentally friendly, and socially/culturally supportive, allowing people to flourish through mutual support as they age in place and in community. Harbourside is located on the waterfront within walking distance of the Sooke Town Centre within easy access of grocery stores, pharmacies, banks, restaurants, coffee shops, post office and other facilities. The property is 2.75 acres, has a private dock with waterfront gazebo and incorporates the original resort building as the common house. The materials and mechanical systems were selected to achieve Built-Green Canada Gold standards.
West Wind Harbour Cohousing
Sooke, BC
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The property is located within Sooke’s Town Centre. The 0.637 hectare south facing waterfront property originally had one single family residence that was retained and refurbished as a common amenity space. The property has a foreshore lease and private wharf zoning that permits a private dock, exclusively for upland owners use. The property’s location in Sooke’s Town Centre is desirable for its walkability to downtown amenities; the gently sloping terrain with easy waterfront access; and sweeping southeast to southwest views of Sooke Harbour and Basin, the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Olympic Mountains. West Wind Harbour Cohousing is a senior focused community however there is no age restriction. The building is sited to maximize views of the ocean and the Olympic Mountains. It is a six story building with four floors of wood frame above two floors of concrete and a parking structure. The 34 strata titled residential homes range in size from approximately 600 to 1200 square feet – all with spectacular views of the harbour. They share access to gardens, patios, spectacular rooftop deck, spacious outdoor walkways and approximately 7000 square feet of indoor common amenity space. The refurbished house provides about 3,000 square feet of that amenity space and includes three guest rooms, office, library, art room, a dining room for private family dinners, patio areas for gatherings around the fire, and more. The newly constructed common areas include a large kitchen and dining area for shared meals, a lounge, workshop, exercise room, and plenty of storage space for bicycles and personal equipment. The project achieved Built Green Gold certification and includes many environmentally sustainable features.
Ravens Crossing
Sidney, BC
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Ravens Crossing Cohousing is a 4 storey building with one level of underground parking on an approximately 0.6 acre site. It is located within close proximity to the village core and within easy walking distance of many shops and services. The 35 homes range in size from approximately 670 to 1380 square feet.
The common house is approximately 3000 square feet and includes a large entry gathering space, a meeting room, art room, a common kitchen and dining, lounge, common laundry, and two guest rooms. There is also a rooftop deck and lots of shared garden space with raised beds for urban agriculture. 20% of the dwellings are adaptable units as defined by the Town of Sidney. 10% of the homes have a minimum of 3 bedrooms, with a gross floor area of not less than 1070 square feet and are located within the first or second storey of the building to accommodate families with children.
The project achieved Built Green Gold certification and includes many environmentally sustainable features.
A Proven Approach to Building Cohousing
Our Members will each receive a copy of Ronaye and Margaret’s book Community Led Housing, A Cohousing Development Approach. We will be following the experience-based method laid out in the book, to tackle:
Recruiting members and building community
Working together efficiently and collaboratively
Managing finances and legal agreements through the development phase
Finding a feasible site
Managing construction
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Now is the time for community led housing. Modern ways of living can leave us feeling alone in our homes and isolated from key resources. Cohousing balances independence and privacy with collaboration and togetherness to cultivate a thriving community. In cohousing spaces, neighbors know one another, and everyone works together to build and sustain a better future.
When cohousing experts Ronaye Matthew and Margaret Critchlow realized the vast demand for their development services, they knew they had to open the door—to everyone. In this in-depth guide, Matthew and Critchlow share their decades of experience on the ground and in the field. They outline the entire development process and break it down into accessible goals and informed takeaways for anyone interested in a collaborative approach to housing.
With their expertise, you’ll be prepared to navigate financial and legal structures, to work with your local municipalities and key professionals, and to transition smoothly from the development phase to living in the community. Including a detailed appendix with case studies of past projects and more, Community Led Housing is the must-read handbook that gives everyone with dreams of creating their own community the tools they need to succeed.
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“For those who yearn for a more connected future, this book is a guide for bringing the village of your dreams to life.”
“This sensible guide is the kind of community how-to book I love—stunningly clear, well organized, and easy to follow—written by two of the most skilled and experienced cohousing experts in North America. The authors’ wealth of sensible, field-tested advice will improve your chances of success immeasurably and no doubt save you money, time, and heartbreak. I can’t recommend Community Led Housing highly enough for aspiring communitarians in Canada, in the US, and in other English-speaking countries too!”
“There’s a lot written about smart cohousing design, but a book about cohousing development has been a long time coming. It stresses the importance of a can-do attitude accompanied with experienced guides. The book is a crucial point of departure—enhance it, learn from it, grow from it. I think Matthew and Critchlow’s ‘straight talk’ will help everyone make more community in the future.”
“The world needs this book! Community Led Housing delivers essential tools for those who dream of building a community where neighbors know, trust, and support one another. Ronaye Matthew helped bring my own community’s cohousing dream to life. In this powerful book, she and co-author Margaret Critchlow offer the wisdom to help others do the same.”
“Ronaye Matthew is a cohousing professional who had successfully managed eleven cohousing projects. This achievement is astounding because many others have tried and not succeeded. I believe she is the leading expert in Canada. What’s even more important is that this book holds the secrets on how she has achieved that success. This book is essential for groups considering cohousing, and more importantly, this is a great guide in helping other professionals work on cohousing developments. I am grateful that she is willing to pass along all that she has learned over the years so that others may benefit.”
“Matthew and Critchlow have crafted a much needed ‘how-to’ book for creating community-based housing. As people around the globe search for new ways of living to reduce our carbon imprint and enhance social relationships, documenting successful community-building is more important than ever.”
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Publisher: Page Two PressPublish
Date: 01/17/2024
Pages: 408
ISBN-13: 9781774584545ISBN-10:1774584549
Language: English
Be Part of the Process!
This is a rare opportunity to help shape a cohousing community from the ground up—right here in Esquimalt. We’re actively welcoming new members who want to learn, engage, and grow with us.