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50+ Trends: More Dining, Green and Doctors' Space
The 50+ housing and services offered in the marketplace have as much to do with where a community is located as they do with what a community needs, according to architects and operators of 50+ housing who spoke at NAHB’s 50+ symposium in Denver last month.
Fifty-plus housing is generally built as bungalows, cottages, campus-type communities or as mid- or high-rises, said Steve Ruiz, AIA, OAA, of BeeryRio, an architectural firm based in Springfield, Va. What form the housing takes depends upon whether the 50+ community is serving populations in a rural, suburban or urban area.
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Bungalows |
Bungalows in Rural Locations
“Bungalows are primarily in rural locations,” said Ruiz. This type of 50+ housing is usually “church-sponsored or adjacent to nursing homes.”
The bungalows are generally clustered — typically in pairs, but in as many as four units. The residents have private sleeping areas or units and share such amenities as dining and recreational areas and residential-style kitchens for in-house meal preparations or outside meal programs.
This type of clustered living “promotes family-type cooperation” and is designed for an inclusive healthcare provider or outside home health care, Ruiz said.
These units typically are single-story, wood-framed structures that can be clustered to accommodate different service programs. For instance, one wing of clustered bungalows can be for residents with dementia.
These 50+ communities can be developed as stand-alones on half-acre lots in single-family communities and generally are close to established libraries, shopping and other cultural establishments.
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Cottages |
Cottages in Modest Suburban Locations
Cottages, which offer larger living areas and can be configured as single, double or shared units, are generally found in modest suburban locations and “primarily owned and operated by service providers or adjunct to established nursing homes,” Ruiz said.
The cottages, like bungalows counterparts, are wood-framed structures clustered around dining, kitchen and recreational areas.
Unlike the bungalows, the cottages house more units, typically 70 or more units in three buildings on five or more acres. Each cottage has its “own sense of community,” said Ruiz, and also can be designated to provide specific services.
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Campus-style living |
Campus Senior Living in Large Suburban Communities
“Campus-style senior living” typically is 50+ housing ranging from 130 to 150 units and built in larger suburban communities. This type of 50+ housing is typically three- to four-stories high, of concrete and steel or concrete and wood-frame construction, and clustered in two buildings linked by a service connector.
This housing features independent living in larger, full service apartments — mostly two-bedrooms apartments that can accommodate home health care — according to Ruiz. The units typically have kitchenettes.
Because of the larger population they serve, these 50+ communities typically have larger and more varied entertainment areas and community space that can include such amenities as theaters, exercise rooms, restaurants and deli-style dining for the residents and their guests, Ruiz said. They also feature underground or protected parking.
The independent living buildings are often linked to a “sister” building that can provide intensive assisted living, dementia and acute care programs,” Ruiz said. These communities primarily are owned by REITs or development partnerships and operated by established healthcare providers.
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An elevated patio garden |
Mid-Rise/High-Rise Projects in Urban Locations
Fifty-plus mid-rise and high-rise communities are typically found in large, urban areas and can range in size from 60 to 400 units in buildings from five to 20 stories high.
The units in these communities come in multiple configurations, have private balconies and offer a combination of independent living and care programs for their residents.
Most, if not all, of the public spaces are usually on the first floor in these buildings, according to Ruiz. Many offer elevated gardens or patios, full-service dining, pools, saunas, health spas and other club amenities, as well as concierge services.
One floor in these communities typically is set aside for full service dementia care.
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Holly Creek CCRC |
Holly Creek Continuing Care Retirement Community: A Case Study
Holly Creek, a continuing care retirement community in Centennial, Colo. near Denver for residents 55 and older, features cottages and apartment living with multi-purpose meeting space for educational, spiritual and wellness programs; a fitness center with indoor and outdoor pools; a spa; a salon; and a library with wireless Internet access.
When completed in 2008, Holly Creek will feature 51 cottages, 180 apartments and 18 luxury apartments, according to Camille Thompson, Holly Creek executive director. The community will have a town center with a theater, country store, large commercial kitchen, a grille-type dining venue and a large, multi-purpose space. The theater and multi-purpose space also will include wireless hearing equipment.
Holly Creek will have a health center with 12 memory support spaces, 24 skilled nursing apartment homes and 28 assisted living homes. The health center, which is part of the main building, will have an outside entrance for clients who are not living in the health center wing. There will be a Snozelen room specially designed to serve residents with memory loss, and a Montessori activity room where families can interact.
Holly Creek also will have multi-specialty physicians’ office space in the health center, a “definite trend” within the 50+ industry, Thompson said.
Other trends that Thompson said Holly Creek has experienced since the community first began construction in 2002 are:
- Larger apartments with upgrades. “People are willing to pay more for this,” Thompson said.
- More dining venues, not necessarily larger dining areas.
- Storage. “Residents need enough room to store seldom-used items as well as a place to store oxygen in the health center.”
- Two car garages for the cottage units. “Residents want two car garages, even if they never drive the second car.”
- Doors that are not too heavy and have automatic open and slow closures.
- Rounded corners on cabinets, careful transitions between surfaces such as rugs and hardwood flooring that eliminate tripping hazards, pullout Lazy Susans for easier accessibility
- Increased lighting. “Lighting is critical for seniors,” Thompson said.
When Holly Creek was first planned, the mix of one-bedroom and two-bedroom units was spit 50-50. Five years into the project, Holly Creek has changed the mix to include about 75% two-bedroom apartments.
“More couples are buying our product,” Thompson said.
Thompson also said that the residents at Holly Creek are becoming green. “We found that they are very energy conscious and want more opportunities to recycle,” she said.
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