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Homebuilders Eye Vast Market of over 55's
It's not the
image you'd expect to see selling a subdivision. The advertisement
depicts an older couple laughing and Rollerblading. The headline:
"We're having more fun than you are." They represent a growing
market of homeowners who no longer mow the lawn or clean the gutters.
Instead, they're taking exercise classes and joining bridge clubs. These folks
won't be ready for assisted living or nursing homes for years, if not
decades. They're the target market for one of the newest trends in housing
-- homes designed for empty nesters. Developers
nationwide are eyeing a virtually untapped market of Baby Boomers
inching toward retirement, and they're designing subdivisions just for
them. Of the 4 million people living in metro Atlanta, 613,000 are 55 and
older, according to 2000 census data. Fulton County
is home to 130,000 people 55 and older; DeKalb claims 100,000. "Statistically,
it's just painfully obvious that it's coming," says Bob Adams, a
Peachtree City home builder who constructs homes exclusively for
"active adults" on the Southside. Nicolas
Retsinas, director of the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard
University, says this generation will redefine senior housing "for a
population that will be healthier and wealthier than its
predecessors." The center
surveyed older adults to determine what they want in housing. The
consensus: one-level homes near shopping and restaurants with maintenance
included. "I moved
to get rid of the outside work," says Thelma Wallhausen, 83, who
relocated with her husband from Alpharetta into The Orchards of Roswell,
one of the communities targeting her age group with its fun-filled ads. "The
demand for active-adult housing will increase dramatically over the next
10 years," says Gregg Logan, vice chairman of the Urban Land
Institute's national Senior Housing Council and an Atlanta real estate
consultant. "It's a great opportunity if you're a builder offering
that type of product." Within the
active-adult community are niches: 70- and 80-year-olds moving to
developments with activities directors planning daily events; senior
neighborhoods within large golf course subdivisions; and wealthy Boomers
who want urban settings with amenities such as personal chefs. While not
in Atlanta, there are also communities marketed to gay seniors. Logan,
managing partner of Robert Charles Lesser & Co., says government
officials should do everything they can to attract and retain older
adults. "They
will have less impact on your schools because many times their kids are
grown, and they have lots of money in the bank and tend to spend on goods
and services," he says. "They're a very desirable population to
have in your community." In order to
entice seniors, several counties across metro Atlanta have exempted school
property taxes for seniors. This year, 26,428 homeowners in Cobb County
receive senior exemptions, as do 3,450 in Forsyth and 6,613 in Cherokee. The new
lifestyle| One builder,
the Orchards Group, sells the new lifestyle in ranch-style condominium
communities in Alpharetta, Duluth and Roswell. More are planned for
Forsyth County and, possibly, Douglas and Hall counties. The
communities are built as quartets of one-level units clustered on small
lots. The homes feature senior amenities such as large peepholes, outlets
a foot higher off the ground to prevent back strain, and levers instead of
doorknobs to aid arthritic hands. At The
Orchards of Roswell, exterior maintenance is part of the monthly $175
condo fee. Homes sell for between $180,000 and $250,000 and range from
1,300 to 1,850 square feet. Construction isn't complete yet, but 100 have
sold out of a planned 158. Last
December, 70-year-old Joann Cassella moved in. She chose a two-bedroom
unit, leaving a four-bedroom home in Augusta to be near two of her five
daughters. "I have
time to enjoy so much of the things that are offered here," says
Cassella, a widow. "I swim two or three times a week. I'm getting
more exercise than I did in Augusta, and I feel better." Activities,
planned by coordinator B.J. Smith, consist of exercise classes, pool
parties and monthly welcome dinners that can draw 65 people. On a recent
Saturday night, more than a dozen residents enjoyed supper at Van Gogh, a
popular Roswell restaurant. Smith's
latest offering is computer classes to teach residents how to e-mail their
grandchildren. "This is what I'm trying to learn," Cassella
says. "I think I've got it down now." The clubhouse
serves as a gathering place for events and exercise. Outside is the pool
and a putting green, and inside is a tiny fitness center, billiards room
and card room where residents often play bridge in the afternoons. A new
age-restricted condo, the Regent at Glenridge, opened this spring in Sandy
Springs. Eighty percent of the residents must be 55 or older. The 38 units
in the three-story building range from 1,000 to 1,900 square feet and are
priced between $200,000 and $400,000. The sole
resident, David Butler, moved in last May. He says he likes the location,
a few miles from one of his five children. Butler, 58, an attorney with
the Justice Department, says he didn't seek out an age-restricted
community but saw a benefit. "That did suggest the place might be
quiet," he says. The Regent is
the first age-targeted project for Grace Development Corp., but it likely
won't be the last. President Hank Rowland says, "I felt like the
market was underserved. There's a great need for this type of housing for
the independent senior." The condo
employs a part-time personal chef, Michael Guy, who cooked for Sen. and
former Gov. Zell Miller in the governor's mansion for three years. Once more
residents move in, he will prepare breakfasts or lunches -- bistro salads
with candied pecans and raspberry vinaigrette or mustard-crusted salmon --
with 12 hours notice. He will cater parties in a commercial-grade kitchen
and banquet facility that can seat 56. Bobby and
Barbara Keel, seniors themselves, sell the units. "I can relate to
people's concerns because we have been going though downsizing of our
home," says Barbara Keel, 69. Many aging
Boomers aren't interested in downsizing, and developers are addressing
their needs with seniors communities within large subdivisions. John Wieland
Homes and Neighborhoods, one of Atlanta's largest home builders, has plans
for a senior section in its 66-acre Reunion subdivision and golf course in
Hall County. Scott Coleman, regional president, says the community might
not be built for a few years, but "retirement residences" are
part of the zoning conditions. Three
sections of SummerGrove, a 2,000-home development in Newnan, are built on
small maintained lots that appeal to retirees. Bob Adams,
the Southside homebuilder, constructed 61 houses there. Dave and Elvie
Hanken moved into one in May from their family home in Roswell. Since
yards are small, the majority of couples in their neighborhood are retired
like them. A former
Delta pilot, Hanken, 60, and his wife didn't choose a senior-only
development because they enjoy seeing children playing in the small parks
around the 1,500-acre subdivision. "Our little park has just a few
benches for the older people to sit," says Elvie Hanken, 58. 'Access to
nice things'| Harvard's
Retsinas says older adults want more than wider doorways and grab bars.
They look for amenities such as fitness centers and broadband connections.
"These
people are not going to be sitting in their apartments and going nowhere.
They want access to nice things," he says. Still,
builders like Roy Wendt of Snellville don't neglect obvious
senior-friendly features, such as a master bedroom on the main floor and a
"911" light that illuminates near the garage when a resident
hits an emergency switch. He has been hammering out active-adult homes
within several Gwinnett subdivisions for six years. "This is
the market that's happening now," says Wendt, who is 55 and lives in
one of his own active-adult homes. "Gwinnett County looks like a
young market, but people are moving to be closer to their children and
grandchildren." Bob Galloway
and his wife, Dorothy, moved to Wendt's Woodberry subdivision in February,
just a few miles from children in Snellville and Lilburn. He met some
neighbors in his age group at a welcome gathering. FAIR USE NOTICE: This page contains copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Global Action on Aging distributes this material without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. We believe this constitutes a fair use of any such copyrighted material as provided for in 17 U.S.C § 107. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
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