Numbers tell the story

The Virginia-based National Association of Home Builders estimates the 55-and-older population will reach 85 million by 2014, at which time it will represent 41.7 percent of homeowners. That group is pushing changes in design that crop up everywhere, from apartments to family homes that feature "first-floor masters" or ground-level suites that cut out taking those nasty steps at the end of the day. "The market is definitely there," says Howard Hanna, chairman and chief executive officer of Howard Hanna Real Estate Services.

The demand is resulting in new homes that allow a person to age in place, says Mary Jo Peterson, a member of the home builders' 50+ Housing Council. "The age boom is helping people because it is leveling the playing field for everyone," says Peterson, of Connecticut, who also is an interior designer.

The demand has led the American Society of Interior Design to appoint an Aging in Place Council. It will try to "educate the public and designers" on the best ways to approach this aspect of life, says Michael Berens, director of research for the group.

"What a different set of seniors," says Nanci Case, vice president of marketing at the St. Barnabas Health System, which has a 110-unit home site geared to active, independent adults in Valencia, Butler County. She says this up-and-coming breed, which often includes new retirees, is more active than the same generation from the past. They look for communities that have walking trails, or are built around golf courses or near enticing attractions.

"It is not about age, but functional level," Pieffer says of Presbyterian SeniorCare. "It is a lifestyle choice." Some members of this maturing generation look for services at their home sites, while others simply want to maintain an independent, but easier, lifestyle. Renee Lukehart, for instance, talks about how there is a great feeling of freedom, but togetherness, in Cambridge Manor because the neighbors tend to be around the same age, in their 40s and 50s.

"There's a clubhouse with an exercise room, and people get together for all sorts of things," she says of the site with 180 condos and 10 single-family homes.

Wanted: An easier lifestyle

Home developer Bruce Crum believes the most important part of this lifestyle search is the desire to stay in a single-family home, but one that is simpler to handle. He is one of the owners of Adams Development Group, which has built a carriage-home community near Mars, Butler County. That neighborhood started in 2000 with 60 homes and now is in the construction phase of the latest addition, which will bring the total to 190.

He says he and his partner, Chris Frank, saw the yuppies of the 1980s were getting ready to retire and wanted homes that gave them all the features they were used to, but didn't require a lot of maintenance issues. The result was a community in which nearly all of the carriage homes are in units of four with all maintenance included in a $150-a-month condo fee. The homes start at prices from $265,000 to $325,000 and feature customizable living spaces.

Cathedral-ceilinged great rooms can be made into one-story areas with another room added above. Enclosed sun rooms can become outdoor porches. "These are people who don't want to worry about things," he says of his clientele, which he describes as between their late 40s and late 60s. "They want to be able to travel and not worry about security or whether the grass is cut." Dick Ciripompa agrees, saying that easier lifestyle is exactly why he and Judie are moving from their Franklin Park home.

That search for independent, free living also is the reason the St. Barnabas Health System added its collection of Woodlands homes a little more than a mile away from Adams Crossing. Douglas W. Day, president of St. Barnabas Communities, says the leaders of that retirement community saw the same desire when they began work on their collection of the same type of homes. "The new retiree, the young retiree, is very different from that of the past," he says. "They are active and want activities for them. In fact, they demand it." Because this site is part of St. Barnabas, its clientele is a little older. Day says the age of the residents ranges from 57 to late 80s, with most in their 60s and 70s. There are 110 units in the Woodlands now, and work is continuing toward an eventual total of nearly 300, he says. The community is full and has a waiting list and an average turnover of one or two a year, Day says. These homes are rented, however, at between $1,800 and $2,751 a month, and residents immediately become part of the health system.

Part of a community

That is why Cyril and Gloria Rogers moved to the Woodlands from their two-story home in McCandless. He had his left knee replaced in 2005 and had to deal with multi-level living during his rehabilitation. "The stairs finally defeated us," says Rogers, who is spry and energetic at 88.
Gloria Rogers, who will not offer her age but jokes she is "much younger," says the health-care aspect was the lifestyle offering that made the community attractive. "We knew we would have to do something eventually about health care," she says. "This gave us the chance to do it before we were made to." She says the single-family nature of the homes, along with the social activities offered by St. Barnabas, also made the site attractive.

Somewhere in the middle are the residences offered at Redmont Village in Hempfield, Westmoreland County. The 12 elevator-served apartments and 50 one-floor homes are sold from $120,000 to $275,000, says Presbyterian SeniorCare's Pieffer. It is next to Redstone Highlands, an elderly care facility connected to SeniorCare. The Village is not a direct part the health system, and residents simply are put on preferential status when they need care, he says.

Some communities, such as St. Barnabas and Redmont Village, are age-qualified, meaning residents must be of a specified age to move in, most often 55. Others areas, though, draw a certain generation of people because of their nature. Patricia Burk, director of housing and urban development at the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership, suggests that Downtown is attractive to adults wanting to pursue a lifestyle geared toward cultural activities.

She points to research done at Carnegie Mellon University that indicates 44 percent of recent migrants to Downtown are between 45 and 64. The largest part of that group comes from the baby boom generation. The U.S. Census Bureau defines that as being made up of people born between 1946 and 1965. "Some people just want to be in the center of things," Burk says. The neighborhoods can become pleasant because of that shared nature -- but that isn't necessarily an entirely positive effect, says a sociologist from Duquesne University, Uptown.

Michael Irwin, an associate professor in the department of sociology, says research done there shows that a variety of people creates a "social capital" that is lost when residents are the same. He also says residents generally feel better about the worth of their neighborhoods when they encounter different people in them. "Suburbs can be homogenous," he says, "but that generally is by class, not age." Nonetheless, homeowners such as the Rogers and Lukeharts speak positively of their move. "It was the best decision we ever made," Renee Lukehart says.

Accessibility features

Mary Jo Peterson says members of the baby boom generation are open to design changes in homes "as long as you're doing it for someone else." "Everyone wants to be nice about making sure a home is usable by the disabled," she says, discussing clients who often don't want to deal with aging. "Just don't mention the 'A' word when you're talking about something for them."

Peterson is an interior designer from Connecticut and a member of the National Association of Home Builders 50+ Housing Council. "Let's face it," she says, "no one wants to get old."

Baby boomers need to deal with matters of attitude as well as housing features when they are looking for a new home, an aging-in-place expert insists. Rebecca Stahr is a member of the National Association of Home Builders 50+ Housing Council. She also is a member of the American Society of Interior Design and a Certified Aging in Place Specialist. She says physical features that make homes easier to use create a sense of "empowerment that allows you to feel in control of things -- and that is the best attitude you can have." That means, she adds, home buyers need to be aware of the aspects of everyday life that are important to them.

"A lot is dependent on personality," says Stahr, the founder of LifeSpring Environs Inc., an Atlanta firm that does housing redesign and assessments. She says, for instance, if cooking is important, a resident should make sure the kitchen has counters that are the proper size, appliances that are appropriately placed and storage spaces that are easy to access. She says there are hundreds of items that can be part of an easily livable home space. Among the most important:

• A full bedroom and bath on the main level
• No-step entries
• 32-inch or wider doors throughout so a wheelchair can pass if necessary
• Drawers that pull out all the way, allowing easier access
• Levers instead of doorknobs
• Lighting that meets individual visual needs
• Appropriate placement of seating
• Low maintenance
• Access to service, cultural activities, medical treatment, friends and family

While most baby boomers in this category are empty-nesters, friends and other members of the family often visit. Therefore, it is important to have room for those stays, Stahr says. The whole matter centers on being aware of features and what they mean, she says.