The day Jim and Claudia Klipp move into their new home next year, they'll already know their neighbors – not just their names but their favorite pastimes and a few of their pet peeves, too.

LARA SOLT/DMN

Jim and Claudia Klipp host a "drumming party" for future residents of Wildflower Village.

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The couple will be residents of Wildflower Village in Duncanville, the first "cohousing" community in Texas exclusively for adults 50 and older. They and about a dozen other empty-nester boomers have worked hundreds of hours over the past two years to create their own retirement haven.

The Cedar Hill couple had considered other active-adult and senior-living communities where they might retire, but they were disappointed to find places that were too big or impersonal. That's when they joined a group of kindred spirits to build a close-knit community from scratch.

Experts say this do-it-yourself approach to retirement living will catch on with boomers dissatisfied with the traditional choices. Fifty cohousing communities are in the works nationwide, and three have already opened – in California, Colorado and Virginia.

"We've planned for our retirement in reverse, I guess," Mr. Klipp said. "Typically, people pick out a community and then take their chances with the neighbors. Here, we've gotten to know our future neighbors as we've sat down to design our community."

Wildflower Village's residents will individually own their single-story homes but collectively own a common building that will have a gourmet kitchen, dining room, living area, home theater, craft room and two guest bedrooms.

Janet Martinique, one of the group's founders, dismisses any suggestion that the boomers who popularized communal living in the 1960s are now trying to re-create it as they approach retirement.

"That makes us sound like a bunch of aging hippies," she said. "We're not. We're just trying to create the kind of old-fashioned neighborhood many of us remember as children, where neighbors visited with each other on front porches."

Some members of Wildflower Village's core group met through church; others heard about the community by word of mouth or the Internet. All agree it's been a learning experience.

The future residents began by holding monthly meetings to interest others in their idea and discuss what they wanted in their new homes. They've since met twice a month as they've looked at possible building sites and hired an architect and a builder.

The group has moved ahead by fits and starts, Mr. Klipp said. One site was too remote. Another turned out to be in a flood plain. A bid on a third property had to be put on hold when a few members pulled out at the last minute.

But the residents recently agreed to buy six acres in Duncanville where they will build up to 30 townhouses ranging from 900 to 1,500 square feet.

The group includes a cigar shop owner, nurse, postal worker, retired microbiologist and teacher. They reach their decisions by consensus instead of up-or-down votes. "We talk until it becomes apparent what everyone wants or at least will accept," Mr. Klipp said.

Still, the discussions occasionally become heated. "We fight like brothers and sisters over some of the tougher issues," said Connie Fountain, an original member. "But even with all the blood, sweat and tears, we've become best friends."

The 50- and 60-ish couples and singles get together once a month to have fun and take everyone's mind off business. They've had cookouts, gone to the horse races and enjoyed drinks at a swanky hotel bar.

"I once dreaded the idea of old age," said Ethel Castaneda of DeSoto. "But I now look forward to it, because I know these people will provide a helping hand if I need one."

Because a few members have dropped out after changing their retirement plans, Wildflower Village is making a new push to recruit adults 50 and older to round out the group before construction starts this summer.

Residents will explain their project at 1 p.m. June 7 at Duncanville's library at 201 James Collins Blvd. The builder will be there to answer questions.

Cohousing will appeal to boomers because it combines the privacy of a home with the security of belonging to a community where residents watch over each other, said Neshama Abraham, a Colorado-based consultant on cohousing.

"That sense of belonging can work wonders with someone's outlook on life," she said. "Residents tell me it's the best time they've had since college."

Wildflower Village's residents selected an architect, Gary Gene Olp, and a builder, Jim Sargent, known for designing and constructing energy-efficient buildings. Mr. Olp estimates that heating and cooling each home will cost no more than $50 a month.

The group also intends to make its community environmentally friendly. Rainwater will be collected from the metal roofs and used to irrigate the native Texas landscaping.

Affordability is another priority. Homes will cost from $130,000 to $160,000.

Barbara Kalley lives a half-mile from the future Wildflower Village and walks by the vacant property to dream of her future. She intends to sell her three-bedroom house in her Duncanville subdivision and move into a townhome in the cohousing community.

"I'll trade square footage for treasured friendships," she said. "I call that a pretty fair exchange, wouldn't you?"

village.org or call Janet Martinique at 972-322-4327.

The group meets at 1:30 p.m. the first and third Sundays of each month at the Cedar Hill Chamber of Commerce, 300 Houston St., Cedar Hill.