January 7, 2026

Crow Woods co-housing: a model for Seattle middle housing

Photo by Brian Miller [enlarge]

Crow Woods co-housing is designed to preserve trees and fit into the surrounding single-family neighborhood.

Jane Lester had a dream. She wanted to live in an intentional community, one where each household had its own dwelling while sharing a sense of community and common amenities. She wanted to live in co-housing.

A little over five years ago, Lester found herself living on her own, poised to follow the dream. Unsuccessful in finding an opening at an existing co-housing community in Seattle, she got involved with the Co-Housing Association of the United States to learn about creating one. Now, her dream has come true: she founded and now lives in Crow Woods in north Seattle.

Photo courtesy of Hybrid Architecture [enlarge]

The common house at Crow Woods sits in the corner, facing the courtyard, providing an interior patio/deck.

Crow Woods is Seattle's latest co-housing development, at 11725 Meridian Ave N. Construction began in July 2024. The homes are a mix of two- and four-bedroom units which range in size from 1,000 – 1,500 square feet. The community consists of nine units. Eight are sold; one two-bedroom unit remains for sale at time of publication.

The low-rise structures designed by Hybrid Architecture nestle in the trees with shingled siding and metal roofs providing a northwest look designed to fit in with the surrounding single-family neighborhood. Each unit has generous windows, a covered front and rear patios.

Photo courtesy of Hybrid Architecture [enlarge]

The condominium community shares amenities including a central garden and a path among the trees.

As the name implies, Crow Woods embraced and preserved the large trees on the site. The arrangement of the cottages was determined by the location of the trees. Mainly cedar and Douglas fir, 17 trees were preserved. The trees are located primarily in the back and between the two original lots, preserved by moving the buildings closer to the street and the outside boundaries, according to setback requirements.

Photo courtesy of Hybrid Architecture [enlarge]

The patio/deck attached to the common house provides community seating among the property’s preserved trees.

The final site plan, also designed by Hybrid, employed a common Seattle arrangement of one single-family residence with two attached accessory dwelling units (AADUs) per lot. The land use sequence involved first combining what had been Lots 4 and 5 of the 1940s Huntoons Haller Lake Addition, then a short plat dividing them into three lots, all to become part of the Crow Woods Condominium. The total project area is 23,248 square feet.

The community acquired an additional permit to build a separate accessory structure for the “common house.” It faces the interior courtyard with a patio constructed of decking material built around existing tall trees. The common house hosts shared dinners and events. Other community amenities include a common garden path, p-patches and a central shared garden. Community members provided volunteer labor to plant 1,600 native plants and shrubs.

The project prides itself on managing all of its groundwater on site, employing high surface permeability and a range of bioretention strategies including rain gardens and water-tolerant native species. Raised boardwalks provide pathways between homes and common areas.

The community has three onsite parking pads, one associated with each lot, as per code requirements.

Units in lots 1 and 3 were approved for occupancy in October 2025, while lot 2 was approved in November.