As part of the cooperative, a social impact company was founded, which is not allowed to make a commercial profit. The cooperative members paid €1,000 for a share. Decisions are made collectively and democratically. Cristina Nuñez is full of energy:
"This will be the first cooperative that will succeed in building an affordable housing building, and I say we will succeed because we are a group of people, 25 or 27, for 15 apartments. We are very, very motivated, very, very committed, not only to build our affordable homes, but above all to contribute to changing the rather difficult housing landscape in Luxembourg."
The members are an international group from Luxembourg, Spain, Switzerland, Egypt, China, Armenia, the Netherlands, and Poland.
"It means that we must also succeed in solving problems, in solving possible conflicts, because there is always diversity, it means that there will be different positions, and we are already working on it, and we are also motivated to make it sustainable, so that other cooperatives can be inspired, also helped by us."
Since submitting their application to the Agora project call a year ago, the group has participated in training courses and workshops to acquire the knowledge they need to make the cooperative and the construction of the project a success. They receive support from Agora, which is also a guarantor with the banks for the loans that need to be taken out.
The project is a mix of "normal" and affordable housing, for which, as with other projects, 75% of the cost is provided by the Ministry of Housing. Tenants, who are not necessarily all cooperative members, can also benefit from housing aid according to the same rules.
Housing Minister Claude Meisch says that the project will be closely monitored to learn from it in the hope that more cooperatives will emerge.
"We already think that it could be an answer – although certainly not the only answer – to our housing crisis and the living situation in this country."
Now there will be analysis to understand whether further political support mechanisms could be necessary to make it easier for cooperatives to gain access and develop into another pillar in the tense Luxembourg housing market alongside commercial, state, and charitable stakeholders, precisely because they evade the logic of the market, Meisch added.
"It is not with the ulterior motive of investing here and selling at some point with added value, so that the next buyer has to take out a more expensive mortgage, a longer mortgage, or pay even more of their salary. It would be good for our housing market if we had more projects like this, to find a balance between the individual stakeholders."
The members of Co-op 01 are hoping to be able to move into their new homes in 2029. If the project succeeds, Agora hopes to start a new model for cooperatives in the Metzeschmelz district.
