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Young girl and man sit at a table with a board game, as woman and dog look on from couch behind them.
Design a better world

Meet the Seattle families living communally to bring down costs – in pictures

This article is more than 7 months old

As Americans face a housing crisis, this development shows how communal living can bring homeownership within reach – and foster connection

A resident plays with her neighbors Sabrina Martin and Jon Starkes Photograph: Daniel Berman/The Guardian
Patrick Sisson, with photographs by Daniel Berman
Thu 19 Mar 2026 14.00 EDTLast modified on Mon 20 Jul 2026 17.36 EDT
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An exterior, rainy view of a multistory brown-paneled home, with a table and chairs on a patio.
Seattle, Washington, has some of the nation’s most expensive housing, with the median single-family home valued at more than $800,000. But in Corvidae Co-op, a new development in the Beacon Hill neighborhood, homes can sell for less than half that pricePhotograph: Daniel Berman/The Guardian
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An exterior, rainy view of a multistory brown-paneled home, with a leafless tree in the foreground.
The co-op was designed by Allied8 and utilized a co-op funding model created by Frolic Community. Developers built its 10 units, which vary in price and size, on two recently up-zoned lots, leveraging affordable housing subsidies and new density zoningPhotograph: Daniel Berman/The Guardian
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A group of people play games and eat brunch, seen through a window from outside.
Residents share outdoor decks, large group kitchens, laundry facilities and a guest unit for visitors. Here, neighborsplay games during a communal brunchPhotograph: Daniel Berman/The Guardian
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Two women and a young girl sit on the floor with books.
The co-op’s 18 residents, ranging in age from three to 80, have formed what one resident calls a ‘circumstantial family’. Retired cello professor Elizabeth Simkin (left) practices Spanish lessons with neighborsPhotograph: Daniel Berman/The Guardian
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Two men and a woman with a child on her lap read the newspaper and drink out of mugs.
‘My wife and I don’t have our own kids, and our parents don’t live on this side of the country,’ said Jon Starkes, a middle school teacher. ‘And yet, there are people at the co-op who feel like they play both of those roles for us.’ Starkesand neighborsread comicsPhotograph: Daniel Berman/The Guardian
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A woman plays the cello, with a dog blurry in the foreground.
‘This feels like an alternative to some of the pitfalls of modern life,’ said Elizabeth Simkin, who returned to her native Seattle about a year ago after nearly 27 years on the east coast, moving into the co-op to be near her childrenPhotograph: Daniel Berman/The Guardian
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Man sits on an armchair looking out of large windows at exterior of brown home.
Jon Starkes in the studio he shares with his wife. He calls the 160sq ft space ‘the treehouse’, due to its generous views of surrounding foliage. It cost $180,000, a steal on Seattle’s competitive marketPhotograph: Daniel Berman/The Guardian
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A woman sits on a couch with large windows in the background looking above nearby roofs.
A resident in her living roomPhotograph: Daniel Berman/The Guardian
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A young woman stands in a living room with a wraparound couch.
‘It’s really nice to have people around all of the time,’ said Jeanie Chunn, who works in hospitality. ‘And it’s large enough where people go back to their own spaces if they are feeling socially drained.’ The two-bedroom apartment she shares with her husband cost $620,000Photograph: Daniel Berman/The Guardian
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Group of people playing mahjong at a table.
Residentslearn to play mahjongPhotograph: Daniel Berman/The Guardian
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Photo peeks through a doorway at a group of adults sitting and standing around a table.
Residents meet regularly to discuss co-op policy, tend the garden (they recently planted a peach tree) and plan rotating communal mealsPhotograph: Daniel Berman/The Guardian
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Two stacked washers and dryers in a side room beyond a table and chairs.
Sharing food and lending tools and household goods have helped residents cut down on expensesPhotograph: Daniel Berman/The Guardian
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An exterior view of a two-story, wood-paneled home with a stairway and a terraced garden.
During a recent movie night, the co-op’s kids introduced the adults to KPop Demon Hunters. ‘There’s plenty of space for residents to develop intentionally together,’ said Jeanie ChunnPhotograph: Daniel Berman/The Guardian
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