Updated September 7, 2026 by Your Boulder.
Archival renderings of Washington Village, from the original 2013 Your Boulder article. Images courtesy of Wonderland Hill Development.
Washington Village is a cohousing community at 1215 Cedar Avenue in Boulder, built on and around the grounds of the old Washington School. Sopher Sparn Architects' 2018 award account describes 36 homes, and the firm's completion article of May 4, 2018 reports Phase II finished, along with two commercial units in the Broadway Building.
Cohousing neighborhoods pair private homes with shared facilities, and residents take part in running those shared spaces and the activities held in them. The National Cohousing Alliance describes the model.
Homes and shared space
The housing mix runs from detached homes and duplexes to townhomes, flats, and carriage units. The master plan by Sopher Sparn Architects also covers the shared side of the site: gardens, courtyards, a park, and a library, plus a common kitchen and dining room, a yoga studio, and an art studio. Sopher Sparn reports LEED ND Silver certification for the development.
The school that came first
Washington School opened in 1903, according to the Carnegie Library for Local History archive. The school building at 1215 Cedar Avenue was later added to the city's historic landmark registry under a designation dated July 7, 2009, and it was kept within the housing development rather than cleared away for it. Your Boulder first reported on the redevelopment in 2013.
The first six homes
Pel-Ona Architects & Urbanists designed six homes within the first phase, a project the firm dates to 2015. Their front porches face the shared park, and each of the six has a private courtyard sized for dining or gardening, with floorplans that open onto it. Geothermal heating and photovoltaic electricity are part of that project design.
Neighbors Helping Neighbors
Washington Village resident David Jaggar described Neighbors Helping Neighbors, an effort in his community, in a first-person account published April 9, 2020 on the National Cohousing Alliance website. Community members contributed voluntary donations for neighbors who'd lost income during the pandemic, with the help intended for HOA dues and mortgage relief, and residents volunteered to administer the funds. Donors and recipients weren't named in the public report.
If you're considering a cohousing neighborhood, ask the community what the shared costs cover and when they're due, who's responsible for maintaining shared buildings and grounds, and how the group makes a decision when members disagree. Ask current residents directly, since costs and responsibilities are set community by community.
Our Central Boulder guide and the full neighborhood directory cover other parts of town.
