MADISON, Wis. — A housing co-op that has helped thousands of women graduate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison has a new home after the university ended their previous lease.

What You Need To Know

  • Zoe Bayliss Co-Op helps students get through college while paying less for a dorm or apartment

  • In 2021, UW-Madison announced it would not renew the co-op's lease

  • The co-op was in a bind, unsure whether they'd have a future somewhere else

  • They now have a new home off campus

Zoe Bayliss Housing Co-Op had rented the same space on the UW-Madison campus since the 50s. The co-op is a way for women and nonbinary students to attend college while paying less than they would for a dorm or apartment. They have a cook who makes their lunches and dinners, and all the residents contribute to housework.

In 2021, UW-Madison announced it would be ending the co-op’s lease by the fall 2023 semester. The building will be demolished to make room for the new humanities building.

Members of the co-op immediately started searching for a solution. In August, students got to move into their new home on Langdon Street.

“This doesn’t even feel real,” said resident Molly Nortman.

Nortman and other residents spent the summer renovating. The house had been vacant for about three years before they moved in. It needed a new heating system, window upgrades, a new kitchen and lots of other changes. Alumni and family came in to help.

Together, the co-op residents created a photo album to document the renovations. It will stay with the house for years to come.

Despite the change of address, residents brought some traditions with them, like storing their individual food in milk crates. Of course, they also had to bring Lydia, the gigantic plant that’s at least a decade old. It was too big to fit in any car, so they had to walk it to the new house.

Nortman said the spirit of the co-op has changed the path of her life.

“I was a junior in college, having a terrible time, hadn’t made any friends,” Nortman said, thinking of the time before she joined the co-op. “Then I started living here. I met people who would become my best friends. I met my girlfriend. I took on leadership positions. The old Molly never would’ve taken leadership positions.”

Now, the co-op has preserved that opportunity for countless students in the future.

“We made this. And now it gets to keep existing for all of the foreseeable… ever,” Nortman said. “That’s crazy.”  

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