{"id":14,"date":"2015-02-01T18:13:46","date_gmt":"2015-02-01T18:13:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/arboretumcohousing-org.cftvgy.org\/wordpress\/?page_id=14"},"modified":"2025-05-06T16:13:24","modified_gmt":"2025-05-06T22:13:24","slug":"about-arbco","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/arboretumcohousing.org\/wordpress\/?page_id=14","title":{"rendered":"ABOUT ARBCO"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Arboretum Cohousing is built on the sacred ancestral lands of the Ho-Chunk (Hochungra) people.  <\/em>
\nWe acknowledge the inhumane treatment and forced removal of the First Nations of Wisconsin.  <\/em>
\nWe recognize our responsibility to sustainably protect and care for this land.  <\/em>
\nWe commit to redressing historic and ongoing harm.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

How We Began<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Arboretum Cohousing was started in 2003 by a small group of people affiliated with the Madison Meeting of the Society of Friends (Quakers).  We were lucky to find a potential building site early in the development process.  The group spent several years meeting, planning, fundraising, coordinating with City officials and neighbors, and marketing before formally buying the land from our neighbor, St. Mary\u2019s Hospital, in August of 2007.  Construction began the next day, and most members moved in one year later.  We were helped throughout development and construction by the generous financial assistance and enduring patience of St. Mary\u2019s, and by support in many forms from neighbors, the City of Madison, local non-profit agencies, and our families and friends.  We are especially grateful for help we received from the members of Madison\u2019s flagship cohousing community, Village Cohousing.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"04<\/a>
“Topping Off” Arbco — a Scandinavian custom of erecting a pine tree when the highest point on a new building is reached.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n
\"Arbco<\/a>
Arbco in summer.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Basics<\/h2>\n\n\n\n