First-of-its-kind South Dakota cohousing development finds its place in Vermillion

By MOLLY WETSCH/South Dakota News Watch
South Dakota News Watch

In this college town of 11,000, a handful of long-time residents are building the state’s first-ever cohousing development, which they hope provides a new way of living for them and frees up traditional homes for others.

“Cohousing doesn’t just create houses. It creates a community. And it does that very intentionally,” said Betty Smith, a founding member of the group.

Cohousing is a method of living that prioritizes community connection and growth. Residents live in small houses with a large common house as the centerpiece where community events and regular shared meals are a cornerstone of the living style. Common houses usually contain large kitchens, dining and living rooms and are central gathering places for the residents.

At the Vermillion development, called Dakota Prairie Commons, there will also be an emphasis on walkability, with footpaths connecting houses. The campus itself will be vehicle-free. Parking and garages will sit at the periphery of the development, Smith said. And while residents will have their own homes, they will be encouraged to rely on others for many day-to-day activities.

“One of my favorite stories is going to Iowa City’s cohousing and walking in, and I compliment this woman’s dog. I said, ‘Oh, what a wonderful dog.’ And she says, ‘Oh, that’s not my dog. That’s my neighbor’s dog. I’m taking care of it this week.’ And then somebody else says, ‘Oh, and I have the dog next week. I’m so excited.’ It’s that easy. But it’s also significant things. Like if somebody breaks an arm, you know, you’ve got close-by neighbors,” Smith said.

The concept also helps to combat isolation and loneliness as residents get to know their neighbors and begin to feel like part of the community, Smith said.

“Isolation and depression is a national thing right now. It’s a huge health issue,” Smith said. “And this really responds to those needs. Everybody knows everyone else and is willing to be part of the community and support one another. That’s huge.”

Response: Years of planning equals placemaking

Smith, a former professor at the University of South Dakota, taught classes on city planning and zoning, which is how she came across the concept of cohousing. It has been more than a decade since she first started to consider the idea as a viable living solution in Vermillion.

Now, after years of planning, the group has officially found both its land and a developer to work on it. The site is comprised of 5 acres of a total 15-acre plot purchased by AMS Building Systems just east of downtown Vermillion. It will eventually feature 28 homes, which will open in stages over the next few years, Smith said.

Ten equity members have already put up a financial stake and are confirmed to move into the development when it opens. Other members, which the group calls “explorers,” have made small financial commitments to have access to planning and other community information as they decide whether cohousing is right for them.

Besides providing a new type of living for its residents, Dakota Prairie Commons will help ease Vermillion’s housing crunch by adding freed-up homes to the market.

One real estate broker has already offered discounts on brokerage fees to those moving into cohousing and looking to sell their house in the Vermillion area, Smith said.

“One of the advantages of building something like this in a town like Vermillion is there’s a real housing shortage here. A 2022 housing study showed that we are missing housing for people who work here, for faculty (at USD), for senior citizens. There are a lot of gaps in housing and it’s really hard to attract developers who will develop out this way,” Smith said.

“New faculty members come and often wait two years before a house comes on the market for them. Well, we’re all going to be selling our houses.”

Evidence: Interest in Vermillion and from elsewhere

While many of the future residents are older, the community is decidedly not a senior citizens complex – a discussion that was brought on when a younger professor at USD said they were interested in moving in, Smith said.

The project is also drawing outside interest. Someone who currently lives in North Carolina plans to move to Vermillion when the development is completed, she said.

“One of the things I didn’t realize when (Smith) first started talking to me about this is we would not need to find 28 households of people from Vermillion,” Becky Rider, another equity member, told News Watch.

“People will move from other parts of the country to where there’s cohousing because the community to them is more important than exactly where it’s located.”

The Vermillion community as a whole has also embraced the concept, Smith said.

The group recently hosted an open house event where city residents had the chance to ask questions about cohousing and the development itself, which Smith said was well-attended.

Ph.D. students studying sustainability at USD have also offered to do research on the site, assisting with native grass design, composting and recycling systems, Smith said.

“It’s cool that nobody’s done this yet in the area. They’re still trying to wrap their head around what cohousing really is, but they have a much better idea after listening to all of us going through the process,” she said.

Insights: Ongoing conversations create collaborative environment

Members of the cohousing group met recently to discuss what features were most important to them via small-circle conversations and brainstorming sessions.

That collaboration is one of the key features of cohousing that makes it different from traditional development, Smith said. During those discussions, there were themes that emerged that were very different from the traditional cohousing path – especially considering that many existing cohousing communities are located in much more temperate coastal towns, far from South Dakota’s sub-zero winters.

“We like to say we’re doing it the Vermillion way,” Smith said. “We’re not following a strictly cohousing path as many of the long-time communities on the coasts have. We’re branching out and doing it our way.”

Priorities of future residents were varied but had specific focus on elements that involved people coming together: fire pits, community gardens, outdoor classrooms.

Diane Leja, an equity member of Dakota Prairie Commons, said she envisions a space in the common house where residents can share items that are useful but only needed occasionally, so members rely on each other more and consider themselves part of the community.

The concept of shared goods is especially important when considering that Dakota Prairie Commons hopes to focus on sustainability, said Susanne Skyrm, another equity member.

“It’s so much more sustainable than everybody having a great big house and a great big yard. Building these days is not always done with efficiency in mind. That’s definitely one of our prerogatives is building it so it is sustainable,” Skyrm said.

“Everybody doesn’t need their own turkey roaster. You can have one in the common house and everybody else can use it. You’re sharing things and not having everybody buying something they only use once a year.”

Limitations: Some higher costs require a reminder of rewards

The housing model allows for greater community building, better connections with neighbors and extra support when it’s needed. So why has it not caught on more across the country?

“Well, it’s a lot of work,” Rider said. “And we are the ones that have been doing the work over the years. I mean, this is years in the making already. It’s much different than just building a regular neighborhood.”

And in some cases, residents may have to make some financial trade-offs to join cohousing communities, especially in the early stages.

“By the time you pay for land and a portion of the common house and your own house, it’s not inexpensive. We live in a house that would be a good starter house for somebody when we move out, but it’s going to very likely cost us more to move into the cohousing,” Rider said. “So while we’re trying to keep it affordable, we’re not thinking of subsidizing our building costs or anything. It’s affordable with a small ‘a’ right now.”

But the payoff, especially for these longtime Vermillion residents, some of whom have been in the community for decades, will be worth it, Leja said.

“I think in some ways we’re going back to older models. It’s a throwback in a lot of ways. Your neighbors, you used to do things together. I mean, we grew up having block parties and barbecues with our neighbors on our street. And that doesn’t happen very much anymore,” Leja said.

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This story was originally published by South Dakota News Watch and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.