Whitehall is a vegetarian, multi-generational housing cooperative located in Austin, Texas. Our mission is to offer affordable housing for those with low income, with an emphasis on community living.
We are located 2 blocks west of the University of Texas at Austin, at the corner of Nueces and 25th Street. Whitehall was established in 1948 as an all women's student co-op. This makes Whitehall the oldest housing cooperative in Texas. We went co-ed in 1971.
Our members have varied a great deal over the years. We have had families with children, octogenarians, and everything in between. The average duration of occupancy is around 18 months, with some staying for many years. We prefer for members to stay for at least a year. As a rule, we do not offer hosteliing as a housing option.
We're currently at our capacity of 14 members, but we welcome inquiries for potential future members, and always it's worth checking to see if anything has changed since the website was last updated. If you are interested in becoming a member, we would encourage you to make contact with us and to come by for a visit or a meal. We enjoy meeting people, and it is easiest fo us to make decisions regarding membership for those we know well.
Every one is expected to do 5 hours of labor per week, which includes a weekly house meeting. This can include kitchen tasks such as cooking, cleaning or shopping; general house tasks such as: yard work, taking out the trash, recycling and compost, cleaning, household repairs and other positions as approved by the membership. The largest part of labor is management; current members both own the house and are responsible for running it. We have weekly house meetings every Sunday evening after dinner.
The consensus decision-making process is very important to us. Consensus works well for us and takes into consideration all our members feelings, opinions, beliefs etc. It generally takes longer than "majority rule"; however decisions don't need to be revisited often. Many of us believe that there is more harmony in the house as a result of each individual voice being heard and honored.
