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Housing
for Older Adults That Offers Wide Services
By Carole
Paquette
The
New York Times, 27 April, 2003 Builders of residences for Long Island's increasing population of people over age 55 are scrambling to incorporate new features in their housing projects to serve the changing demands of their clientele. "Today we are dealing with a different type of senior than there was 20 years ago," said Paul Aniboli, a principal in Ramco Development in West Bay Shore, which has built 400 units of luxury rental housing for older people on the South Shore. "They are looking for comfort, are willing to spend money and they live an active lifestyle." Mr. Aniboli said he has had to plan for more garages and parking spaces at his latest project because many couples who are prospective residents have more than one vehicle. "Some of today's people who are over 55 are very active and some are still working, to even call them `senior' is a misnomer," he said. A demand for home ownership has spurred the owners of the 55-unit Highlands in Melville, a one-year-old luxury rental complex with hotel-like amenities for people 62 and over, to make plans to convert it into a co-op. About half of the units are currently occupied. "The concept of having luxury living quarters in an elegant hotel-like setting is popular in Florida, but this type of senior residence will be the first on Long Island," according to Fern Karhu, manager of Prudential Long Island Realty's Syosset office, which is marketing the property. She added that many of today's older adults are still very active and want a recreational and social lifestyle, but with little home maintenance, in a secure location. According to the census, there were 627,132 people over 55 living on Long Island in the year 2000, up from 591,455 a decade earlier. The number is projected to grow to 824,000 by the year 2020, according to Roy Fedelem, a principal planner for the Suffolk County Planning Department. The increase reflects the aging of the baby boomer generation, those born in 1946 to 1964. And, today's older people are wealthier than those of 10 years ago, Mr. Fedelem said. "Today's seniors have many more savings options than they did in the past," he said. "They have IRA's, pension plans, 401(k)'s, stocks, and the equity in their houses is incredible. In many cases their homes are now worth 10 times more than what they paid." In 1970 the median home value on Long Island was $27,600 and in 2000 it had increased to $214,600. That number has increased sharply in the past three years, Mr. Fedelem said. The current stock market weakness, coupled with the increasingly high home prices, has inspired the owners of the Highlands to turn their rental units into a co-op, said Ronald J. DeVito, a Jericho lawyer and a principal in Huntington Terrace, which owns and manages the rentals. "We are seeing that people coming in have a great deal of interest in owning rather than renting," he said. "Many have liquidated their stocks or securities. They are withdrawing from the stock market and are investing in something that will increase in value. This caused us to pursue this idea." The Highlands, which opened last year, is part of a $42 million 188,000-square-foot complex of two-story, yellow buildings with white trim on 11.2 acres. Besides the apartments, the Huntington Terrace complex includes the Gardens, a 64-unit assisted-living facility; and the Courtyard, a 45,000-square-foot building with 72 units for those residents that require skilled nursing. The three components of the complex are connected by a service corridor, which allows the kitchen and housekeeping staff to serve the entire complex. The 78,000-square-foot Highlands cost $17.7 million to build. Once permits from the town of Huntington and the state are approved, the building will become a co-op, a plan Mr. DeVito said he expected would be in place by early 2004. Until that time, new tenants will receive a one-year lease with option to buy. There are 24 one-bedroom units; 14 have 845 square feet of area and 10 have 688 square feet. Of the 31 two-bedroom units, 29 are 1,150 square feet and two, which include dens, are 1,523 square feet. They are projected to sell for $300,000 to $475,000, according to Bart Cafarella, a senior regional manager for Prudential. The interior is designed in the style of a Southern plantation, with light-colored walls, textured wainscoting and colorful carpeting. There is Chippendale and Queen Anne-style furniture in most of the common rooms, which are adjacent to the 1,000-square-foot lobby where a receptionist acts as a concierge. These common areas include an exercise room, 4,000-square-foot dining room, a parlor, beauty parlor, cocktail lounge, separate men's and women's lounges, and a 1,200-square-foot media room. A wide staircase in the lobby, as well as five elevators, which are spotted throughout the building, lead to the second floor, where there are two additional 400-square-foot lounges. Since the Highlands opened, the all-inclusive rents have been $3,850 to $4,825 a month for one person; the second person in a room pays an extra $750 monthly. Rates included utilities, 24-hour security, weekly housekeeping, two meals a day and scheduled local transportation. AS of Thursday, the rents will decrease as some services will then be offered on an a la carte basis or through a "club membership," both of which would be available when the building becomes a co-op, said Mr. Cafarella. "We will continue with the rentals but would have a mode of operation already in existence," Mr. DeVito said. "This way it would be a smooth transition for people if they opt to purchase." New rents will range from $2,600 to $4,600 per room — occupied by either one person or a couple — and will include utilities, security, basic cable, weekly housekeeping and unlimited local telephone access. Tenants would still have access to the common area facilities but would pay extra for meals, transportation and other services like massage therapy. The club membership, covering all programs and services except meals, would cost $250 a month. Members would be expected to spend a minimum of $200 a month in addition in the dining room. Another company that specializes in properties with minimum age requirements, the New York City-based Sterling Glen Communities, which has 250 assisted living residences in the state and three on Long Island, has plans to open two new residences in the New York area that will be "active adult" communities, for people 55 and over, according to Michael Daly, Sterling Glen's president. The two new communities are to be the first of their kind being built by Sterling Glen, he said. Bryant Landing, a 160-unit residence, is expected to open in Roslyn in 2005. It will be similar to Stonegate at Belle Fair, a 166-unit residence being built in Rye Brook in Westchester County, which will open in early 2004. The Roslyn residence was designed by Robert A. M. Stern, the Manhattan architect, who has designed many residences and buildings in the Hamptons. "In order to attract the more active senior, we felt we must change the program to be more flexible," Mr. Daly said. "Instead of the mandatory three meals a day, residents will pay a $600 minimum per month to eat in the dining room. The menu will be more varied, as it will now be a restaurant environment." Not including the dining expense, prices will range from $2,900 a month for a one-bedroom unit to $6,400 for the largest two-bedroom. "Also, there will be full, rather than small, kitchens as the population wants to be more independent," Mr. Daly said. "The kitchens will have fine finishes, including granite counters, because seniors are moving out of beautiful homes and most likely had redone their kitchens. They will want what they had." Based on suggestions by his rental agents that more older people are looking for home ownership, Mr. Aniboli of Ramco said he is about to build his first condominium — 32 units on five acres in Oakdale — for people 55 and over. "It seems that the same people who can afford $1,500 a month for rent would prefer to actually own their units, it would be equity and would protect them from rent increases," he said, adding that "the condo units will be remarkably similar to our rental units, just a little larger and would probably sell in the mid-$250,000 to $300,000 range. And they will have as many garages as we can fit." Copyright
© 2002 Global Action on Aging |
