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Senior Housing Builders Seek to Lower Eligibility Age
By Eden Laikin, Newsday
December 9, 2008
Citing the decline in the housing market, two condo complexes in Hempstead Town - both of which received permission to build more units and provide less parking in exchange for selling only to people age 62 and older - now want to lower the minimum age to 55.
Both developers say that, if they get the approval, they cannot provide the additional parking spaces that would be required for condos without age restrictions.
The town board is scheduled to decide today whether to grant the requests by developers of Dutch Gate in North Valley Stream and The Seasons at East Meadow.
Both projects received Golden Age zoning, which provides housing for seniors age 62 and older. It allows up to 30 condos per acre instead of 20 for units without age restrictions.
The town's parking ratio for regular condos is seven spaces for every three condos. Golden Age uses a ratio of 4-3. Town officials said the logic behind that 1985 law presumed residents older than 62 were largely retired, with one-car households.
At least six Long Island towns - Babylon, Brookhaven, Huntington, Islip, Riverhead and Smithtown - use 55 as the minimum age for senior housing, in line with the Federal Fair Housing Act.
Some senior real estate specialists said times have changed.
"If you're looking to sell, the buyer pool has shrunk, so you definitely want to open up to as many buyers as possible," said associate broker Carol Bromm at the Babylon office of Prudential Douglas Elliman Real Estate. "You are losing quite a few with that seven-year difference."
At a recent public hearing, Hempstead Town Councilman James Darcy asked Dutch Gate's developers how they can say they're having trouble reaching sales goals when they haven't yet marketed the condos.
An attorney for Dutch Gate said research shows a slowdown in that market.
"People are reluctant to make any kind of a move now," said Jack Libert. "Having a broader base gives extra comfort level to the developer."
Dutch Gate's developer - Broadval Llc of Islandia - plans to build 388 condos and provide 545 parking spaces, slightly more than the Golden Age requirement. The Seasons is building 416 units, with 570 parking spots.
Traffic and demographic experts hired by the developers testified at recent hearings that changing the age minimum to 55 wouldn't produce more cars.
But Hewlett resident Frances Miller told the board that Golden Age parking requirements are already "woefully inadequate." At the hearing for The Seasons' application in October, she said she manages the Meadows, a similar 438-unit complex, and parking problems occur when adult children return home to live with parents or when elderly residents have caregivers.
Dutch Gate's developers could be required to add up to 355 parking spots if the age minimum is reduced. Similarly, The Seasons could be required to add 400 spots. Both developers have said there's not enough space to provide the extra parking and keep the same number of condos.
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