Prairie Hill Cohousing

Prairie Hill Cohousing We have built a multi-generational cohousing community with small sustainable homes and community gardens—just a mile and a half from downtown Iowa City.

We are a group of folks who have created a new housing alternative in Iowa City, based on the "cohousing" model which started in Denmark and has now spread worldwide. There are hundreds of cohousing communities in the U.S, Canada, Australia, Sweden, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Germany, France, Belgium, Austria, and now right here in Iowa City! Our History:
A group of local Iowa City folks starte

d meeting in 2009 to explore alternatives to traditional housing arrangements. All of us shared an interest in living in a community that reflects our values that allow us to reap the benefits of community life and still retain privacy. After a lot of reading and discussion, field trips, and consultation, we found the Danish cohousing model incorporated just about everything we were looking for:
• A multi-generational community
• Social and economic diversity
• Community and privacy
• Green buildings with a small carbon footprint
• Jointly-owned common spaces with shared resources
• Emphasis on alternative transportation
Our vision became a reality:
We are now a community of 28 eco-friendly residences clustered along sociable, pedestrian-only outdoor spaces, within a short walk of community gardens and green spaces. Each household has a private kitchen as well as access to shared facilities in a Common House with a large kitchen and dining area where before Covid-19 we could cook together and share meals at least once a week. Even during the pandemic, we are finding ways to stay in community through Zoom and outdoor visiting and tending the gardens. We also enjoy our workshop where we can swap tools and talents. Where we are today:
We have 7 acres of residential buildings and gardens with a view, located on the west side of the river just a mile and a half from downtown Iowa City, within walking/biking distance to the University of Iowa campus. The site is near city and university bus stops. We are working on designing our final two buildings that will accommodate 9 additional units. Contact Val Bowman at 916-751-9188 for more information about what's currently available or for a tour!

This is where we live. Come join us, socializing and gardening together.https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1Cqwkig326/
06/01/2026

This is where we live. Come join us, socializing and gardening together.
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1Cqwkig326/

Welcome to Iowa's only cohousing community.🔑
Yes, you read that right - there's truly nothing else like it around here! Here's why... 🌿
Nestled on 7.8 acres in the heart of Iowa City, 156 Prairie Hill Ln is minutes from downtown, restaurants, Kinnick Stadium, grocery stores, and easy highway access — while living in a place that feels like a world of its own.
The community amenities are where this place really shines. A shared community center with seating for 55, a commercial kitchen, exercise room, rec room, guest suites, a business center, community workshop, EV charging stations, community garden with personal plots, and an HOA that handles landscaping, snow removal, and more.
All you have to do is show up and enjoy it. 🏡✨
📲 Reach out to Channing Smith to learn more about this one-of-a-kind opportunity in Iowa City!
👀 See the full listing here: https://bit.ly/156-Prairie-Hill-Ln-ENCOMPASS
🔑🏠
☎️ 319-775-0463
✉️ [email protected]
🌐 encompass.kw.com

05/21/2026

Planting Seeds:

Spring at Prairie Hill is all about seeds. Bedrooms are repurposed into solar nurseries full of little pots and trays. Enriched by the black gold of a year of compost, they only need seeds. Snow melts off the potting shed, cold frames sense the sun. Zinnia heads, collected by our children in the fall, have been sown along the paths between homes. Another month, and all that red and gold and orange will light the way to the Common House.

Around Last Inn, my building, we've sown cardamom and kale, arugula and oregano, poppies and daffodils, close to our front doors. While "up-top" in the community garden, we're nurturing the infancy of beets and greens, carrots and Malabar spinach, okra and many more.

When you plant a seed, you do so with faith. Faith that the seed will sprout, moving in 2 directions at once—putting down roots, reaching up toward warmth and light. But you never know. A seed may grow sideways for a while, then up, or not make it to the surface at all.

As a retired teacher, among quite a few other teachers here at Prairie Hill, I know this to be true. When you plant an idea, a smile, or simply a new way of looking at the world, you never know what will take root. Every once in a lucky while, you might meet that young person again, and realize—yes, they got it. Now they're planting seeds of their own.

Prairie Hill is part of the Miller Orchard Neighborhood Association, an area of 600 households. Last year, my kids and I knocked on many MONA doors. Lilly, Linnea and Amari invited neighbors to come to Prairie Hill for an Easter egg hunt. Some could join us; many could not. At least we planted seeds to say, "The only borders here are made of flowers."
--Cecile Goding

We're happy to announce that the League of American Bicyclists re-certified Johnson County’s Downtown Campus as a Gold B...
05/21/2026

We're happy to announce that the League of American Bicyclists re-certified Johnson County’s Downtown Campus as a Gold Bicycle Friendly Business for the third time!

We’re committed to a Bicycle Friendly America for everyone. Visit https://johnsoncountyiowa.gov/news/gold-bicycle-friendly-business for more information.

Johnson County, Iowa has a variety of resources available for county residents, from information about upcoming elections to places to report county road issues that need to be fixed.

05/02/2026
04/24/2026
Our newest video!
04/02/2026

Our newest video!

Prairie Hill Cohousing in Iowa City, Iowa invites you to learn more about us.

NYT Article on Iowa City's free buses!
11/21/2025

NYT Article on Iowa City's free buses!

Ridership jumped, people cut back on driving and, over the summer, the city extended the program another year.

Midwest Living Magazine just listed Iowa City as one of the top 10 Midwest getaway locations! Read more here:
11/12/2025

Midwest Living Magazine just listed Iowa City as one of the top 10 Midwest getaway locations! Read more here:

Midwest campus towns aren't just about game days or late-night pizza runs. Find award-winning restaurants, unique lodging, and compelling attractions in university cities like Ann Arbor, Michigan; South Bend, Indiana; Madison, Wisconsin; East Lansing, Michigan; Athens, Ohio; Iowa City, Iowa; and Blo...

Why cohousing? Want to live longer? Odds are you'll live longer if you live in a community such as this!
10/06/2025

Why cohousing? Want to live longer? Odds are you'll live longer if you live in a community such as this!

Groups in Denmark and the U.S. are choosing to live in intentionally intergenerational communities, which emerged to strengthen social ties between aging sen...

09/29/2025

Longer lives: what makes the difference? Aging in Community. According to this short video, only 3% of us die in nursing homes. There have always been alternatives.
https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1DpQtFyv3Z/

Address

140 Prairie Hill Lane
Iowa City, IA
52246

Telephone

(319) 569-1004

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