Thursday, January 28, 2016

See What's within Walking Distance of Iowa City Cohousing!

Carolyn Dyer has put together the following Resource Guide to our neighborhood. We are much appreciative!!


As an urban infill development, Prairie Hill will be uniquely close to  nearly everything one needs to meet daily needs. In less than a quarter mile, a distance planners consider ordinarily walkable, there are a general grocery store, two specialty groceries and a convenience store. There are several walkable sit-down restaurants and fine fast food just beyond. Also within a quarter mile, a member could work out, get a haircut, see a lawyer, buy flowers and pet toys, leave a car for service and get a check-up for a pet.


Resource Guide to the Prairie Hill Neighborhood

These resources are listed in order of their distance from Prairie Hill. Distances are measured from either the driveway location at about 951 Miller Avenue or the northeast sidewalk location at about 841 Miller Avenue. Most are in easy biking distance within a half mile; all are within a mile. Several key businesses and services a bit further are noted, as well.

Restaurants (27+)

0.1 miles--Fuji Sushi & Steak House
531 Highway 1 W
(319) 351-2828

0.1 miles—Hudson’s Southside Tap
1022 Hudson Avenue
(319) 499-1058

0.1 miles--La Regia Taqueria
436 Highway 1 W
(319) 341-8226

0.2 miles (by car; overland by foot, shorter) - Culver's
710 Highway 1 W
(319) 333-1321

0.3 miles--Carl & Ernie's Good Time Pub
161 Highway 1 W
(319) 337-4422

0.3 miles--Milio's Sandwiches
151 Highway 1 W
(319) 337-4422

0.3 miles--KFC
130 Highway 1 W
(319) 351-6180

0.4 miles--Arby’s
3 Highway 1 W
(319) 887-1041

0.5 miles--Mekong
5 Sturgis Corner Drive
(319) 354-4754

0.5 miles--Panchero’s Mexican Grill
965 South Riverside Drive
(319) 887-2600

0.5 miles--Zio Johno's Spaghetti House
953 S Riverside Drive
(319) 358-0011

0.5 miles--Midtown Family Restaurant
1069 Highway 1 W
(319) 351-9323

0.5 miles--Dairy Queen
1015 Highway 1 W
(319) 338-3100

0.5 miles--Panda Express
1035 Highway 1 W
(319) 338-9899

0.5 miles--Subway
805 S. Riverside Drive

0.5 miles--McDonald’s
804 S Riverside Drive
(319) 338-1846

0.5 miles--Breugger’s (Coming soon)
700 S Riverside Drive

0.6 miles--Village Inn
9 Sturgis Corner Drive
(319) 351-9

0.6 miles--El Ranchero Mexican
21 Sturgis Corner Drive
(319) 338-4324

0.6 miles Domino’s Pizza
529 S. Riverside Drive
(319) 338-0030

0.6 miles--Dairy Queen
526 S Riverside Drive
(319) 338-9328

0.7 miles--The Wedge Pizzeria
517 S Riverside Drive
(319) 337-6677

0.7 miles--Timmy Flynn's Red Pepper Deli & Grill
517 S Riverside Drive
(319) 337-5270

0.8 miles--Blimpie Subs and Salads (Inside Casey’s)
1410 Willow Creek Court
319) 358-5522

0.9 miles--Dane’s Dairy (summer only)
1430 Willow Creek Court
(319) 354-7400

0.9 miles—Carlos O’Kelly’s
1411 Waterfront Drive
(319) 354-5800

0.9 miles--Los Portales
1402 S Gilbert Street
(319) 358-1308

A Little Further

1.3 miles—Stella (by car; overland by foot, shorter)
1006 Melrose Avenue
(319) 887-5564

Convenience Stores (3)
0.1 miles--Deli Mart / BP gas
525 Highway 1 W
(319) 337-5623

0.5 miles—Kum & Go/ gas (coming soon)
840  S. Riverside Drive

0.8 miles—Casey’s General Store/ gas
1410 Willow Creek Drive
(319) 358-5522

Grocery Stores (4+)
0.1 miles Modina African Market
399 Highway 1 W
319-855-5211/319-936-4127

0.1 miles La Regia Meat Market
436 Highway 1 W
(319) 358-2333

0.2 miles—Aldi
760 Ruppert Road
(855) 955-2534

0.5 miles Walmart
919 Highway 1 W
319-936-4127

A little further

1.1 miles—HyVee
1720 Waterfront Drive
(319) 354-7601

1.6 miles—Fareway Grocery
2530 Westwinds Drive
(319) 351-6082

General Merchandize (3)
0.3 miles-- Paul’s Discount Store
424 Highway 1 W
(319) 338-7217

0.3 miles--Dollar General
41 Highway 1 W
(319) 338-7217

0.5 miles--Walmart
919 Highway 1 W
319-936-4127

Florists (2)

0.1 miles--Down to Earth Florist
580 Highway 1 W
(319) 354-4153

0.4 miles--Flowerama
817 S. Riverside Drive
(319) 337-5623

Banks (2)

0.1 miles--First American Bank
640 Highway 1 W
(319) 688-9300

0.9 miles--Hills Bank & Trust
1401 S Gilbert Street
(319) 338-1277

Hair Care (5)

0.2 miles Hairport (men)
403 Hwy 1 W
(319) 338-1068

0.2 miles--Style Mi Salon (women)
435 Highway 1 W
319 338-7011

0.2 Michael Tschanz Salon (women & men)
428 Highway 1 W
(319) 337-3015

0.3 miles Avenson Salon & Spa (men & women)
159 Hwy 1 W
(319) 440-6735

0.4 miles Twin Image Salon Spa
121 W. Benton Street
(319) 338-2198

Day Care Centers/ Preschools (4+)

0.6 miles--Good Shepherd Center
603 Greenwood Drive
(319) 338-0763

0.7 miles--Home Ties Child Care Center
405 Myrtle Avenue
(319) 341-0050

0.8 miles--A Two Z Child Care Center
300 Myrtle Avenue
(319) 338-1330

0.8 miles--University Preschool
212 Myrtle Avenue, Iowa City
319-337-7046

A little further

1.1 miles--Melrose Day Care Center
701 Melrose Avenue
(319) 338-1805

1.1 miles--Alice's Rainbow Child Care Center
421 Melrose Avenue
(319) 354-1466

1.2 miles-- Mary Jo Small Child Care Center at Brookland Woods
309 Melrose Avenue
(319) 337-8980

1.3 miles--Early Learners Enrichment
735 Westgate Street
(319) 339-0800

1.4 miles--Bright Horizons Family Solutions
109 Westlawn Building
(319) 335-9666

Health Care

Jensen Eyecare Center
640 Highway 1 W
(319) 338-6700

Planned Parenthood
850 Orchard Street
(877) 811-7526

Health Clubs (1+)

0.1 miles--Anytime Fitness
458 Highway 1 W
(319) 594-8331

A little further

1.1 miles--CrossFit Epic
1545 Willow Creek Drive
(319) 853-8477

Pet Care (2)

0.2 miles--Gentle Heart Pet Clinic
Dr. Mary Ebert
1125 Shirken Drive
(319) 354-6696

0.2 miles--Leash on Life (pet supplies)
432 Highway 1
(319) 354-4334

Car Service (12)

0.0 Car Clinic Diagnostics & Repair
961 Miller Avenue
(319) 351-9358

0.3 miles--Spenler Tire Service
140 Highway 1 W
(310) 338-9481

0.2 miles--Deery Brothers Chrysler Dodge Jeep
651 Highway 1 W
(319) 887-9000

0.3 miles--Carousel Nissan
817 Highway 1 W
(319) 337-5000

0.4 miles--Accurate Automotive
1010 Orchard Street
(319) 351-5899

0.5 miles--Tuffy Auto Service Center
909 S Riverside Drive
(319) 341-7720

0.6 miles--Linder Tire Services
632 S Riverside Drive
(319) 337-4163

0.6 miles-- Professional Muffler
606 S Riverside Drive
(319) 337-2191

0.6 miles--Mobile 1 Lube Express
600 S Riverside Drive
(319) 887-1655

0.6 miles--Lovetinski Harapat Auto Services
436 Ruppert Road
(319) 338-6223

0.6 miles--Midas
19 Sturgis Corner Drive
(319) 351-7250

0.9 Miles--Toyota of Iowa City
1445 Highway 1 W
(319) 351-1501

Auto Parts (4)

0.5 miles--O’Reilly Auto Parts
915 S Riverside Drive
(319) 337-3551

0.4 miles--AutoZone
13 Highway 1 W
(319) 354-8224

0.9 miles--NAPA Auto Parts
1411 Highway 1 W
(319) 337-2137

0.7 miles--IWI Motor Parts
270 Ruppert Road
(319) 688-2842

Car Rental (2)

0.5 miles--Enterprise Rent-A-Car
9 Highway 1 W
(319) 358-7000

0.2 miles--Hertz Rent-A-Car/Local Edition
426 Highway 1 W
(877) 654-4867/ (319) 337-6615

Cell Phone Service (2)

0.4 miles--That Cellular Place: US Cellular
19 Highway 1 W
(319) 338-0580

0.4 miles--Z Wireless: Verizon
23 Highway 1 W
(319) 354-2008



Other resources and services within a mile of Prairie Hill

0.0 miles--Iowa City Landscaping and Garden Center
520 Highway 1 W
(319) 337-8351

0.1 miles Anderson Houghton Law
568 Highway 1 W
319-351-8600

0.1 miles--The Back Store
606 Highway 1 W
(319) 248-7814

0.1 miles--Sobaski Abbey Carpet and Floor
600 Highway 1 W
(319) 337-4054

0.1 miles--The UPS Store
450 Highway 1 W
(319) 359-1773

0.1 miles--Time of Your Life Fitness and Physical Therapy
434 Highway 1 W
(319) 354-3824

0.3 miles--Family Video
101 HWY 1 W
(319) 354-2302

0.3 miles--Fin and Feather
125 Highway 1 W
(319) 354-2200

0.4 miles--Johnson’s Dry Cleaner
31 Highway 1 W
(319) 337-4161

0.4 miles--Hampton Inn
4 Sturgis Corner Drive
(319) 339-8000

0.5 miles--Westport Touchless Car Wash
10159 IA-1

0.5 miles--Jo-Ann (fabric and crafts)
1029 S Riverside Drive
(319) 354-3961

0.5 miles--Staples
820 S Riverside Drive
(319) 354-0799

Thursday, January 21, 2016

City Council Gives Final Approval to Prairie Hill Site Plan!!

The Iowa City Council Tuesday gave its final approval to the site plan for Prairie Hill.  The vote was 6 to 0, with councilor John Thomas abstaining because he has a conflict of interest.  John is a landscape architect working with Iowa City Cohousing to develop the layout for plantings on our site.  We will be removing most of the existing scrub woods to develop our homes and their surroundings.  The landscape plan includes trees along streets and sidewalks and nearly 4 acres devoted to orchards, vegetable gardens, prairie. and open space.

On this site plan, the fruit and nut orchards appear as large clumps of big trees to the northwest corner of the developed area and between the development and the half of the site that is undeveloped. On the west or left side of the site plan, the large ovals are planned as mostly vegetable gardens.  The lightly shaded areas just outside the gardens will have small fruit-bearing trees and shrubs.  To the south or the bottom of the site the steep hill will be mostly undisturbed or developed in prairie plants. To the west or left of the site, the natural woodland will be supplemented with native fruit and nut trees.  (We are fortunate that the wooded ravine just west of Prairie Hill property will remain natural in perpetuity.)

On the developed or right half of the site, we will plant shade trees along Miller Avenue, Prairie Hill Lane, and our sidewalk network. Residents will do plantings around their units, likely a combination of kitchen gardens of herbs, berries, and flowers.

Near the east or right edge of the site, behind the street trees along Miller Avenue, a long snake-like structure will be a bioswale, or rain garden, planted with native species with deep roots.  These plants in a depression in the land are part of our sustainable stormwater management plan. It will help hold rain and snow runoff from the site, filter pollutants and keep it from flowing into the city storm sewer and ultimately into the Iowa River, the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico.


Carolyn Stewart Dyer



Wednesday, January 20, 2016

Children in Cohousing

One of our member mothers has chosen the seven links below, all of which give personal experiences with children in cohousing environments. We at Prairie Hill are eagerly seeking more families with children to add to our membership. More about cohousing and families coming soon to the blog.

In this one by Sarah Lozanova (http://www.cohousing.org/node/1715 ):
A mother shares the ecological and environmental advantages of cohousing, and how she will make adaptations for her family of four to comfortably live in 900 sq ft.

A single mom of one and a married mother of three share their own stories in the context of the benefits of cohousing for moms and families.

The article ends with Six Defining Characteristics of Cohousing. 
A cohousing community in Seattle shares the experience of "recreating the village," why families join cohousing, the co-parenting process in community, and the challenges and benefits of living in community.

Brief blog entry (with photos) on how children benefit from living in cohousing
Salt Lake City area newspaper article on local cohousing that includes quotes from residents, history of cohousing, and how the layout of the houses promotes community interaction.

A wonderful video made by kids in cohousing to show what it is like to live in cohousing.

A slideshow of photos of kids in cohousing AND links to more articles about kids in cohousing.

Sunday, January 10, 2016

Surprising Discovery on Small Apartment Field Trip

In preparation for downsizing once we move to Prairie Hill, members and prospective members are thinking about how much space we need. We've been playing around with room dimensions, arranging space within the floor plans, and looking at what others have done. Several weeks ago we took a field trip to three different small apartments in Iowa City, all between 500-550 square feet. Compared to what most of us are used to, this is very small indeed!

First we toured two high end studio apartments at the Vine on Gilbert Street. Each was one big room plus bathroom and closet. A fold down bed allowed the space during the day to be more open. The kitchen was along one wall and windows provided a generous amount of natural light. Clearly a person could live comfortably in either of these two apartments, close to the center of town and within walking distance of most amenities. Thinking theoretically, I  had to agree that an apartment like this would work for someone like me, but I missed the cozy feeling of a home.

Then our field trip moved on to Quinn Dilkes' small (540 square feet) apartment at Ecumenical Towers, just down the street. Quinn lives on the 8th floor. Her large windows to the south give plenty of light, and although this apartment was the same general size as the two we'd just viewed, it seemed much larger. And it was cozy!

 Though the photo above is a little dark because I was facing into the window, it shows the feeling of comfort and ease we got in Quinn's living room.

 The kitchen was bright and spacious for so small an apartment, with plenty of storage space as well as closets. We are also very impressed with the two large closets in the entry hall.

And the bedroom (again, sorry for the darkness of the photo) was a comfortable size with plenty of room for Quinn's desk and computer, a large closet, and a roomy bed.

I don't think I was the only one who breathed a sigh of relief when I saw this last apartment on the field trip. It showed that small does not have to be austere, and it made me excited about getting into my own small home at Prairie Hill in the near future.

Thursday, January 7, 2016

Cohousing Video Made by Cohousing Kids

Here's another link that Carolyn found. Nice to see cohousing from the perspective of young community members:

http://www.cohousing.org/node/3110

Is Cohousing Green Enough?

Carolyn has sent this link to an article about Cohousing and "Green":
http://www.cohousing.org/node/3721