Worker cooperatives either rent a building or they own the building. This is a very interesting article with long-term tips about what to look for if you are lucky enough to buy the building.
Some of the questions are, given a building lasts 40 years, how flexible is the building in accommodating  reorganization based on changed community needs? Second, be careful in recruiting potential co-op members who have hard skills like carpentry, plumbing or electrical skills for the building operation. These folks ordinarily have less patience with learning soft skills of group dynamics. Lastly, be careful deciding on novel technology, because with the turnover of coops people , those advocating for the new technology might not be around when the technology breaks down.
Read in Grassroots Economic Organizing
