By Brian Denitzio
News Editor

It's Tuesday night and dinner is about to be served. Roommates shuffle past each other, carrying plates and utensils, while tortillas and a bowl of refried beans are set out on the table. This is a nightly occurrence at 31 Leroy Street, also known as the Boston Community Cooperative's Dorchester Co-op. The three-decker is home to twelve people ranging in age from 20-55, who live together in a completely cooperative environment. They split costs, chores, and make decisions about the future of their house as a group. And they cook meals for each other; on the menu tonight is vegetarian burritos.

The co-op on Leroy Street is the first home purchased by the Boston Community Cooperative, Inc., a non-profit organization that is committed to creating permanent, affordable housing. The organization is the brainchild of six former residents of a rental cooperative in Somerville. In June of last year, they formed the company and purchased the home to formalize their belief in cooperative living, and create a permanent base of affordable housing. Four members of that original group of six still reside in the Leroy Street home, including Micah Josephy, 30, and Matt Borus, 29. They sat down in the third-floor kitchen, which doubles as a living room, along with a third roommate, Dan Keshnet, to discuss life in the co-op.

While residents of the house range in age across a wide spectrum, most residents are in their mid-to-late twenties, a demographic for whom cooperative living is an attractive alternative to struggling to get by on one's own.

"One of the things that I really noticed and liked when I moved here is that you get a whole lot more for the effort you put in," said Keshnet, a 25-year-old computer programmer, who moved into the house in June of last year. "I cook once a week, something nice, then I get really nice meals cooked by someone else other nights."

Cooperative living, it seems, divides the many and often unsavory tasks of running a household and allows residents to play to their strengths. Some are good with numbers, and they pitch in by doing the books, while others can play the role of handyman.

"The different tasks that have to happen in a house are spread out across 12 people," said Josephy. He explained that he abhors grocery shopping, so he can let a housemate handle that, and instead contributes by handling plumbing and repairs around the house.

But whatever the skills that a resident brings to the house, the most important trait is a willingness on their part to share those skills with the group.

"I think another big thing that we look for is, regardless of people's skills, a desire to apply them in the house," said Borus.

The current batch of residents is split evenly along gender lines. Among the group is a social worker, a computer programmer, and a street musician. At first glance, it appears that living with eleven roommates would be oppressive and make time to privacy nearly impossible, but Borus, Josephy, and Keshnet say that this isn't the case. When they want to be alone, they have that chance, and when they want to socialize and hang around in common areas, they can do that too. Cooperative living offers that balance. And it also offers structure, that can make living with strangers easier than it would be outside of the cooperative.

"I've lived here [in Boston] in many roommate situations, and in a lot of those situations expectations are really unclear," said Borus.

The expectations in the co-op are simple, he said. Roommates take turns cooking vegetarian dinners, Monday through Thursday. Everyone pitches in for groceries and supplies, and utility bills are split twelve ways. There are house meetings, and everyone has chores. Beyond that it's a lot like living anywhere else.

Borus and Josephy said that nothing led them to buy in Dorchester specifically; they wanted an affordable home in an established neighborhood, close to mass transit. Now that they're here, however, they're excited about the active civic life in the neighborhood.

"There's been significantly more activity here in ten months than there was in the six years that we were in Davis Square," said Josephy.

Members of the group have attended meetings of the Five Streets Neighborhood Association, and they try to keep an ear out for what's important in the neighborhood.

"Development is definitely going to be a big issue, and we want it to happen in a way that benefits people who are already here," said Borus.

He and his housemates don't want to see happen to Dorchester what they witnessed in Davis Square, where development and gentrification forced out lifelong residents. Owning and operating the co-op is one way that they contribute to keeping housing affordable. As time goes on, Borus said that the hope is to lower the rent, currently $575 a month, and also save towards the purchase of a second house based on the same principals.

More information about the co-op is available at bostoncoop.net/leroy/