From the street, the one- and two-story apartment buildings that compose Mayfair Village look just like the other World War II-era buildings in the neighborhood.
But spend time with the people who live in the buildings that form a squared-off U on the block bordered by Krameria and Kearney streets, and 12th Avenue, and something singular emerges.
All 31 residents know one another by name. They get together for a monthly potluck to catch up on any news they missed during backyard chats or meals with one another. Mothers don’t worry if their children aren’t at home because the kids usually are with another family’s children at one of the 19 apartment units.
“We don’t call it co-housing — to be co-housing, you need to have at least three owners participating — but the intent is the same,” says Joyce Thorn, who co-owns the Mayfair Village buildings with her cousin.
“I have always been interested in communal living. I think it’s a natural way for people to live. Sharing is economical. It’s ridiculous for everyone to have their own lawn mower. You use it once a week. Why wouldn’t you share?”
When Thorn, an energetic woman with a shock of white hair, and her cousin bought their first building there in 1991, she began thinking about creating a communal complex. By 2005, as she and her cousin acquired the other buildings that surround a common courtyard, she began sharing that vision with her tenants.
“I didn’t push it, and there were people who weren’t interested, but they were replaced through attrition,” Thorn said.
“In the past year or so, I’ve told everyone who’s interested in renting that this is what it is, and if they’re not interested, I have a unit in another building for them.” (She owns five other rental properties).
As word about Mayfair Village spread, prospective tenants sought out Thorn. Two years ago, when he learned that an apartment had opened at Mayfair Village, Ivan Groce, 40, moved quickly.
“I jumped at the idea of moving to a community like this,” Groce said.
“It’s beautiful. We have cookouts here in the summer. Everyone looks out for everybody else. I’m the muscles here, but I don’t mind. I help out with the snow shoveling, or if someone needs something lifted.”
The oldest resident of Mayfair Village is Rachel Jacobson, 86, who has lived in her apartment for over 20 years.
The youngest is Maleki Miller-Diggs, who is 12 weeks old and was almost born here, says his mother, Lisa Miller. She stayed in her apartment well into her labor before a neighbor took her to the hospital for the birth.
Miller has a ready supply of middle-school and high-school- aged babysitters to watch little Maleki or her 10-year-old, Kya Butterfield, if she needs to run errands. All the children are as familiar with one another’s apartments as they are with their own homes.
The residents include married couples, single parents, empty-nesters and children ranging from infants to Neshea McCabe, 17, an East High School senior who helped start a theater and improv group for African-American teenagers.
“It’s a very inclusive community,” Groce said. His neighbors include other African-Americans, Latinos and whites. Joyce says the diversity occurred naturally, but she’s proud of the range of races, genders and age sheltered at Mayfair Village.
Everyone helps with the children who compose more than one-third of the Mayfair Village population, Miller says. When she makes snacks for Kya, she cuts up enough apples to share with all the Mayfair Village children.
The other parents take turns with snacks and hosting sleepovers. Last summer, Groce hung a big sheet and set up a projector so the children could watch movies during sleep-outs in the backyard.
When someone needs a little privacy, they close the front door. If a neighbor calls on Groce to help with a job and he’s busy, he’ll say so. The monthly potlucks are a tradition, but attendance isn’t mandatory.
“I think everyone knows we all need some alone time,” Miller said.
At the October potluck, the adults talked about coordinating a pumpkin-carving contest and a trick-or-treat outing to nearby stores. The Mayfair King Soopers and Safeway stores are only a couple of blocks away, and local businesses were offering special treats to costumed children in late October.
“That pumpkin-carving sounds pretty good to me, too,” Groce said.
There is a community garden and garden furniture, community clotheslines, and common playing equipment. Thorn has thought about building a dining room where residents could host meals, parties and craft events.
At the moment, only Pam Paulien owns a Mayfair Village unit, but Thorn foresees a time when the tenants will shift from rental tenants to owners. Paulien, who went to school with one of Thorn’s sons, plans to live in Mayfair Village “indefinitely.”
“I’ve been involved here from the beginning,” she said, “planting trees and doing all sorts of things.”
Claire Martin: 303-954-1477 or cmartin@denverpost.com
