Apex Belltown Co-op

Way more than just another roomie situation, the Apex Belltown Co-op is a tight community at First & Bell where since 1985 cooperative-minded folks, including artists, craftspersons, activists, musicians, poets, plumbers, geeks, and all sorts of other good people have owned and managed the building together.

The co-op consists of two floors with 21 individual units: 10 units are on the second floor, 11 units are on the third floor. Each floor has a community lounge. The lounges are where we have our potlucks, parties, and meetings. There is also a community deck located on the roof, with a little space for communal gardening.  Please look at the other pages for more info (links at top of page).

All new residents are hand-selected by the current residents. All who live here chip in about 10 hours a month to help clean, repair, and manage the place. This will be further explained during your tour. Applicants are required to take a tour before their application will be considered. The Apex Belltown Co-op is an equal opportunity housing provider. Co-op buy-in payment is $2535 dollars.  Payment plan available. Buy-in refunded upon move-out. 

Current openings are for double sized rooms with a monthly carrying charge of $460.  Tour and turn in an application by May 20th for consideration.  Please see Live at Apex for more info and downloadable application.

How our membership selection process works:

1) When we have an opening we accept applications until the posted deadline (so if the deadline has NOT passed we have NOT filled the vacancy, so no need to email this question).

2) We review the applications as a group and invite a few candidates to interview.

3) We hold interviews and then decide whether to offer membership to candidates.

COOP RESPONSIBILITIES

We want to be upfront and clear with prospective members about what being a co-op member involves.  Please read and consider the following responsibilities carefully before deciding whether to apply: 

In addition to your financial commitment to the co-op (described on the Live at Apex page of this website), there is also a sizable work commitment involved in living here.  Your co-op duties should be a willing priority in your life, not an afterthought or something squeezed in or performed grudgingly.  Here is a list of required membership duties: 

1) A weekly chore that takes up to an hour to complete

2) Another chore associated with your kitchen

3) A monthly general membership meeting: 2-4 hours

4) Service on a committee that will both meet monthly for 2-3 hours and involve taking on a specific committee role that will also take about 2+ hours a week, such as coordinating with contractors/vendors who will be repairing the building, or preparing budget reports, or giving co-op tours, to name but a few.

5) Seasonal work parties for co-op wide cleaning and maintenance.

6) Attendance at interviews of prospective members.

7) Attendance at retreats and training sessions.

This all adds up to 8 to 10 hours a month, which may not seem like much in theory, but the hours sometimes aren’t flexible and require you to schedule your time well.

Note:  we also have a lot of fun!