What is a Housing Cooperative

A "housing cooperative" is a non-profit corporation which wholly owns a large housing development, but instead of the stock being owned by outside investors, each owner/resident owns an equal share of the stock.  In the 1960's, 373 low-income families each purchased a share of Concord Village for about $1000, and the remaining construction costs were financed via a HUD low-interest loan.  The combination of tax incentives and low interest financing meant that each owner only paid only a few hundred dolllars a month for their share of maintenance and remaining loan obligations until the loans are paid off, after which the members of the village can chart it's own destiny (ie. deed the units to member, remain a fair market value coop, etc).

Concord Village is the last remaining HUD financed limited equity co-operative housing community in the state of Arizona.  While thousands of HUD funded housing cooperatives have been created all over the US in the past fifty years, only five were ever built in Arizona, and the others have since paid off their original HUD restricted loans and become fully private.

Due to our unique ownership structure, our residents receive all of the benefits of apartment living (low fixed costs with no surprises) and home ownership (tax benefits, long term return on investment, financial incentives to improve your unit), plus other ingredients missing in both, including group buying power, high owner-occupancy, and pride of community.

Concord Village is an extremely affordable place to live and play in the very heart of where Tempe, Scottsdale and Phoenix converge.

This spirit of a cooperative is different because it inspires greater community awareness and involvement, so neighbors are invested not only in the cooperative that they own a percentage of, but also in each other, and often in the broader or even global community.  Concord Villiage is a completely unique community in the area, because ALL of our units are owned by the people who actually live in them.  By contrast, due to extensive investor interest in the highly desireable Tempe/Scottsdale corridor in recent years, other area condos and multi-family complexes have a very low ownership percentage, ranging from 0-60%, which often translates into more transient and less connected communities.

Concord Village is a past member of the National Association of Housing Cooperatives, which has excellent information about the nature of cooperatives.  Below is a list of additional valuable articles and resources: