Watch: Better World Co-op
Learn more about the cooperative model that inspired Co-op Casa.
Our mission
Co-op Casa builds permanently affordable cooperative housing in central Tucson — homes that give working people the stability, equity, and community of homeownership without the barriers, risk, or expiration date.
We are a nonprofit cooperative governed by residents, workers, and community leaders. There are no investors seeking returns. Every design decision — from Passive House construction to rooftop solar to courtyard cluster layouts — serves the goal of permanent affordability for the people who live here.
Our team
Mark Goehring
CEO & Co-founderDunbar/Spring resident and founder of Common Good Management Services, a cooperative business which provides property management for housing co-ops and land trusts across the country. Mark has managed and consulted with co-ops for twenty years. He was also co-founder and publisher of Tucson Weekly in the 1980s.
markgoehring@coopcasa.coopRuffin Slater
Co-founderCEO of Better World Forever, a nonprofit housing development organization. Ruffin has been part of several co-op and affordable housing organizations. For 35 years he was CEO of Weaver Street Market, the largest worker and consumer food co-op in the country.
ruffin@betterworldforever.orgAdvisors
Jonathan Bean
Design AdvisorAssociate Professor of Architecture at the University of Arizona and a Certified Passive House Consultant.
Lexy Wellott
Planning AdvisorThe Planning Center. Additional advisors focused on design and implementation of Co-op Casa are being recruited.
Documents & resources
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Missing Middle Housing
The definitive resource on house-scale buildings with multiple units — duplexes, fourplexes, courtyard buildings — compatible in scale and form with single-family neighborhoods. Co-op Casa builds missing middle.
Visit missingmiddlehousing.com →
Image © 2020 Opticos Design, Inc. — missingmiddlehousing.com -
Pima County Comprehensive Housing Study — August 2025
The definitive regional data on Tucson's housing crisis. Pima County will need nearly 116,000 new units by 2045 — over 60% for households earning below 60% AMI. Co-op Casa directly addresses the gap this study identifies.
Download PDF → -
City of Tucson — 2025 Maximum Income, Rent & Purchase Price Schedule
Official HUD-based income limits and affordable rent/purchase price thresholds for Tucson. Area Median Income for a 4-person household: $96,100. Co-op Casa is designed to serve households at 60–80% AMI and below.
Download PDF → -
Housing Affordability Strategy for Tucson (HAST) — January 2025 Update
The City of Tucson's 10-point policy framework for affordable housing, adopted by Mayor and Council in 2021 and updated in 2025. Co-op Casa's cooperative model aligns with HAST priorities including middle housing, infill development, and community land trusts.
Download PDF →
Press & coverage
Press coverage links coming soon.
Financial model
Co-op Casa's financial model demonstrates how cooperative nonprofit ownership makes permanent affordability possible — without subsidies that expire, investors who extract returns, or residents who bear market risk.
Financial model details coming soon.