In Bloomington, Indiana, like in many cities today, housing costs exceed what many residents can pay. Local residents and university students compete for the same limited housing stock, driving rents higher and leaving few stable options for people who want to remain in the community long-term.
A group of Bloomington residents responded by focusing on a different question: not only how to build more housing, but how to own housing in a way that keeps it affordable over time. They formed Bloomington Cooperative Living (BCL) and later Avalon Community Land Trust (CLT). Their premise is simple: housing can remain affordable when land is removed from speculation and residents share equity, responsibility, and governance.
Avalon CLT was created to hold land beneath cooperative homes through a split-equity structure. BCL develops and operates housing using a shared-facility model with private rooms, shared kitchens, and collective decision-making. This model allows residents to lower costs while building long-term stability outside the traditional market.
Hugh Farrell serves on the boards of both organizations. His work focuses on cooperative development, including housing designed for multigenerational living and mutual support networks. As public funding for cooperative housing declined, Avalon CLT and BCL continued to grow by building financing models that do not depend on federal programs.
A key step was securing mission-aligned capital. With support from LEAF, Avalon CLT and BCL were able to move projects forward with financing structured around long-term affordability rather than short-term returns. LEAF’s involvement included working through financing and design choices so that decisions reflected governance, cost outcomes, and durability, not only unit count.
“LEAF has been a good and consistent partner and lender,” Farrell said. “Josh Glickenhaus talked us through options and helped us think beyond the numbers, toward the best long-term project we could do. Partnering with LEAF has been invaluable for understanding the systems behind building long-lasting affordable housing.”
Avalon CLT and BCL have also worked with the City of Bloomington to demonstrate that cooperative housing can create affordability without time-limited controls. Monthly housing costs are $500 or less per resident. At $600, utilities and shared groceries are included.
After five houses, the cooperative system supports seventy-eight bedrooms, with two additional projects underway. The first Avalon CLT project was a seven-bedroom micro-cooperative completed in July 2025. One family hoped to have a home birth in the new house, and construction finished ten days before move-in. The home is now fully occupied.
The structure holds people, shared agreements, and a practical way to stay in Bloomington.