A neighborhood co-op in East Atlanta
A pool, a gym, and a big room, owned by the East Atlanta families who use it. Help us understand how many households are interested.
Free to sign up. No financial commitment.
The building isn't ours. Nothing is under contract. We'll keep saying so until that changes.
Why now
Nearby neighborhood pools have long waitlists. We want to find out how many East Atlanta households would help create a place of our own, and whether an existing building could give that idea a home.
So here's the thought, offered carefully. About four hundred households could take the building on together. Behind the sanctuary, fifteen feet down, a five lane pool with a sun shelf. Inside, a gym, locker rooms, and a big room that works for a wedding on Saturday and a laptop on Tuesday. The building keeps getting used. It just gets used by more of us.
The building is for sale, but we don't own it or have it under contract yet. Signing up helps us show the sellers there's real neighborhood support as we work toward a purchase agreement. The congregation decides what comes next for the building they've cared for, and we'd want them at the opening.
Early rendering. A Friday in July, roughly.
The board so far
Public squares
Renderings are just pictures until enough of us stand behind them. Every square that fills in is a household that signed up, named or anonymous as they choose. It expresses interest, not a financial commitment.
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East Atlanta goes first
East Atlanta households would have first option for membership. Sign up now to help us understand local interest and shape the plan.
More of us is cheaper for all of us
The building costs what it costs. The more families share it, the less each one pays. Bringing a neighbor in lowers your own price. That is not a sales line, it is just division.
Your name, your call
Choose whether your household name appears on the public board. Everyone fills out the same form, including name, email, and address. Anonymous squares keep those details private.
What we build
The bones are good and the finishes are rough. Money goes to what you only do once. Furniture can catch up later.
Junior Olympic length, plus a shallow sun shelf for the small ones. It sits fifteen feet below the event deck, so a party can run up top while swimming carries on below. The pools people love most, Lakeside in Louisville, Colman in Seattle, are all hidden from the road.
It keeps its volume and gains a wall that opens onto a deck and lawn. Sectioned off, it's a wedding. Open, it's where you sit with a coffee and a laptop. Every dollar it earns in rentals comes off everyone's dues.
We imagine a more walkable corner with welcoming landscaping and a small sensory garden beneath the trees. Across from the neighborhood elementary school, it could be a place to pause on the walk home, explore with the kids, or catch up with a neighbor. Open to everyone, whether they join or not.
Flexible member space with a couple of bookable meeting rooms and a printer, opening onto a deck above the bike racks. It's a perk, not a leased office. That distinction keeps us inside the permit and keeps the room available to you.
Images are early renderings. The gate signage shows a working name we've moved on from.
How a co-op works
A place we could own together
The idea is a neighborhood co-op owned and used by the households who join. The ownership and membership details still need to be worked out, and we'll share them before anyone commits.
Dues are just the running costs
Lifeguards, chemicals, power, insurance, repairs, and the people who keep it open, divided by the families who use it. No owner takes a cut, because there is no owner. Rentals and events reduce the number.
You see the books
The budget is set and trued up every year with a members' vote, the way a preschool or a co-op grocery does it. If dues go up you'll know why before it happens, because you'll be in the room.
The money
If the project goes ahead, households would help cover the cost of creating and running a shared neighborhood space. Signing up now only expresses interest and carries no financial commitment.
Buy-in moves with how many of us there are
We're advertising a range instead of a number we can't promise yet: a one time buy-in between $6,000 and $10,000 per household. The more families join, the lower it lands, because the same building divides across more of us.
250 households is what it takes to open the door. 400 is the goal we're building the numbers around, and at that size the buy-in sits at the bottom of the range, with monthly dues to match.
These are planning estimates, not a commitment. Exact figures would follow the purchase negotiation, and everyone who signs up can review the full model as it firms up before deciding whether to join.
You don't pay it all at once
An initial amount, then contracted installments as construction moves. Third party lenders can finance a buy-in too.
If your plans change
How memberships could be transferred is still to be worked out. We'll share those details before anyone decides whether to join.
What it pays for
The building, the pool and its retaining structure, mechanical systems, and site work. The budget is deliberately worst case and we expect it to come down. Anyone who signs up can review the full financial model as it develops.
One membership, whole household
A single full membership per household covers everyone who lives with you: pool, gym, the big room, all of it. No tiers, no add-ons, no per person math.
The interest list
A free signup helps us understand how many households are interested and where they live. There is no financial commitment.
What to share
Your household details
Your name, email, and home address help the organizers count interested households and keep you informed.
Your public square
Named or anonymous
Choose whether to show your household name on the board. Your email and home address stay private either way.
What it means
Interest, not an obligation
You can follow the plans and decide later whether membership is right for your household. Signing up does not reserve a membership.
What comes next
Updates as plans develop
We'll share progress and next steps as the plan develops, so your household can decide whether membership is right for you.
Questions
If yours isn't here, ask us. We'll answer it and add it to the list.
Racks, cardio and a class studio on the back side, open early with a fob. Locker rooms and concessions are part of the plan too.
This killed the last attempt here. Because the building predates 1965 and we're renovating rather than rebuilding, the existing parking baseline applies, so no new spaces are required. We'll redevelop and stripe the current lot, which is safer than what's there now. We're also exploring shared parking, covered bike parking, and safer walking routes.
Fair question, and we want the answer written down rather than promised. We're proposing hours, noise limits and event conditions as enforceable terms inside the Special Use Permit, so they survive any future change of management, including ours. Break them and the permit is at risk. Tell us what you'd want in there.
It does, and we won't pretend otherwise. What we can do: staged payments and outside financing so it isn't cash up front, and open swim lessons and neighborhood events beyond the membership. The YMCA provides subsidized access below certain income levels. We complement that, we don't replace it, and we'd rather partner than compete.
We'll tell everyone who signed up what happened. It could fall apart several ways: the sale doesn't come together, the permit fails, the numbers stop working, or not enough families express interest. Signing up is free and doesn't commit you to joining or paying anything.
Members do. Founding members seat the first board, elected boards after that, and full member votes with notice for anything major, including any sale. Bylaws are being drafted and we'll publish them before anyone is asked to make a financial commitment.
East Atlanta households would have first option for membership. Anyone interested can fill out the form now. Your address helps us understand neighborhood demand and keep you informed as plans develop.
Kids obviously yes, and membership covers your household with no per child charges. Guests yes, through a pass system with sensible limits. Dogs, service animals only, which we know will disappoint some of you.
Yes. The Village Yard is the name of our proposed neighborhood co-op.
Take a square
Help us understand how many East Atlanta households are interested. One signup per household, about two minutes, and free to join.
Questions? Reach out
Find us at the Strut with a table and the site plan. We'll come to your porch if you get four neighbors together.
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Saved
Your square is spoken for.
We've recorded your household's interest. We'll email you with project updates and next steps.
Your square is being added to the board with your public name choice. Your email, address, and feedback stay private with the organizing team.