July 17, 2025
Several of you have asked, who can live at Bloom!? Very good question.
Bloom! will contract with Next Step Strategies to run the buildings and program. They will eventually do any screening necessary to accept members of the community. However, as a general guideline, this is what is contained in the first draft of the Operating Agreement. Cut and paste has messed up the formatting, but I think this will give you the general idea. Basically, if your family member requires support to live at home, they can bring the same support to Bloom!
As always, email me with any questions or comments or suggestions. bloom.awebuiltcommunity@gmail.com
3.02 Ownership Criteria. Such Member represents and warrants to the Company and the other Members that such Member, or its primary beneficiary, has completed all application materials required by the Operator completely and accurately and meets all of the following criteria:
has a diagnosis of ASD, OHI, Asperger, Intellectual disability/developmental disability (I.Q. 74 or below) and/or meets the D.D. Level of Eligibility (LOE) requirements as determined by the State of Oregon’s Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance Abuse Services;
is age eighteen (18) or older;
is able to be alone up to three (3) hours independently;
has no recent history (minimum one (1) year) of serious aggressive, self-injurious, or destructive behaviors;
has no severely disruptive behaviors which would interfere with (or prevent the person from participating in) the daily routines of the Company’s program (home and/or day activities);
has no medical problems requiring skilled nursing care or highly specialized dietary need;
is able to recognize his/her own name and respond appropriately when addressed;
is able to understand and respond appropriately to simple directions;
is able to communicate basic needs and wants;
has an awareness of danger (e.g., wandering into street, hot burner on stove, etc.);
is aware of the environment and presence of other people and displays a willingness to learn and participate;
is able to distinguish between own property and property belonging to others;
is able to voluntarily request to be a Member of the Company and is eligible and willing to participate in Member duties, volunteer service or employment;
is toilet trained and able to attend to most toileting needs independently or hire support;
is able to dress self with minimal assistance and keep clothing on once dressed;
is able to feed self independently using spoon and fork at a minimum (acceptable to need some assistance with cutting, pouring, and serving), and is able to drink from a glass or cup;
is able to tend to personal hygiene with minimal assistance (e.g., bathing, brushing teeth, washing hair, shaving, etc.). Women must be able to attend to menstrual hygiene needs with minimal assistance;
if semi- or non-ambulatory, is able to transfer self to and from bed, toilet, vehicles, etc., or hire support.
July 17, Update
The designer has begun work on the conceptual design for Bloom! We need to plan for exactly what we want in our Common House. We will need a dining area with commercial kitchen, a couple small offices, one or two smaller “living room” type spaces for people to hang out, watch TV together, etc. We will have a large studio for dance that can also be used for parties, group meetings, movies, etc. What else would you like to see there?
What do community members want in the way of amenities? For example, do we need a gym/workout space? Bloom! will be easy walking distance from both locations of Sunset Athletic Club, THPRD Sunset Swim Center and Athletic Park, and a short ride to LifeTime Fitness, and the THPRD Cedar Hills location. It would save not only space, but the cost of equipment if we did not have a gym.
Do we want an art room for both classes and individual use? How about a music room? Do we want a room dedicated to musical instruments and maybe residents form a music group or we can use another common space for music lessons and rehearsals for folks to bring their own instruments and not have to have a dedicated room?
If you think you want to commit to Bloom!, then shoot me an email with the name and age of your young adult and what they would like in their Common House. bloom.awebuiltcommunity@gmail.com
July 10
I just received a call from WeBUILT Clackamas, our host for tomorrow night. They have six people out sick with some nasty summer flu and cannot accommodate us after all! I am so sorry. I know we were all psyched to meet again and really kick off our Bloom! project.
They are checking their calendars for alternative dates. I will send those out as soon as they are received.
Thank you all for your continued interest and support. Don’t give up hope - we’ll get there. As always, email if you have questions. bloom.awebuiltcommunity@gmail.com
July 9
July 7 Report
Monday was an amazing day. I spent seven hours with our designer, architect, real estate agent, two potential builders, and Washington County Land Use Planning!
The two builders are both excellent and come with great references. They have diametrically opposed business models, so I will have to figure out which I think will be the best fit for our project.
The County first said we could not build what we want on the property, something about townhouses needing to be individually platted. When I asked how the current owner was able to get approval for 18 townhouses, the Planner looked at the file again and said they would have to do more research, that probably our plan is possible. So, while we wait for that research, preliminary elevations and plans are being drawn up. When those are done, I can schedule a pre-application conference with the County and start asking builders for their best estimate on costs.
I am sad I cannot tell you we definitely have a go with Washington County, but it was a positive day and I am still sure we can get Bloom! built.
Thank you all for your continued interest and support. I will know more about next steps and, especially a preliminary financial commitment, next week. As always, email if you have questions. bloom.awebuiltcommunity@gmail.com
June 27, 2025
An update and a reminder:
Update first: I met with a second builder yesterday. It’s going to be difficult to make a decision between the two I have met. Both come with glowing references and experience building multi-family communities. On July 7, I meet with the designer, architect, realtor - the whole team that has been pulled together to date. We are making a trip to the Washington County Planning Department. More after the meeting.
Reminder: Our first get together with potential residents of Bloom! is July 11, 5 p.m., at WeBUILT Clackamas. If you have NOT already sent your RSVP, please do so by end of day July 7 so they will know how many people to expect. Just email bloom.awebuiltcommunity@gmail.com
Our first parent meetup was Sunday, June 8, 2025. Twelve families were represented there. It was a positive, encouraging group who are all looking forward to having a safe community for their neurodiverse young adults. Three families have already volunteered to help pay for design costs! Our first meetup for potential residents is July 11. Please email for more information or to join our mailing list.
June 10, 2025
