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Active market: Senior communities cater to on-the-go boomers seeking low-maintenance retirement
(Modesto Bee, The (CA) (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Oct. 28--Elementary schools were built for them in the '50s, then high schools in the '60s. Colleges were filled with them in the '70s, and they bought homes like crazy in the '80s and '90s.
Baby boomers -- that massive post-World War II generation born from 1946 to 1964 -- have triggered construction trends for 60 years.
Now as their hair turns gray, they are sparking perhaps their last building boom: senior communities.
Three of the region's largest -- Samaritan Village in Hughson, Covenant Village in Turlock and Bethany Home in Ripon -- are spending nearly $60 million combined to build new apartments and expanded facilities.
In Manteca, construction has begun on 1,425 homes for "active adults" at Woodbridge by Del Webb.
A 70-unit condominium complex called Davante Senior Villas is working its way through Modesto's approval process.
All the expansion is banking on baby boomers, who are expected to fill those low-maintenance, activity-filled communities for decades to come.
But the Northern San Joaquin Valley's need for senior housing is immediate, according to those who manage such communities. As evidence of that, they say, many facilities have long waiting lists.
Jean Harvey has been on the Covenant Village waiting list for nearly eightyears, and she's thrilled the new construction there will enable her to move there in February.
"My sister and her husband will be my next-door neighbors, and my lifelong friend will be living across the hall," said Harvey, a widow who lives alone in a big Twain Harte home. "I got my first-choice apartment."
Harvey graduated from Turlock High in 1961 and moved away soon after. She's eager to return to Turlock.
Her new third-floor home will have 1,140 square feet and overlook a parklike set-ting. The 31 new apartments will be near the 196 units already on the 23-acre Covenant campus.
Unlike where she lives now, Harvey won't have to worry about home or landscape maintenance. At Covenant Village, meals will be prepared for her, rides to doctor appointments will be provided and field trips will be available. There also will be help for her if she needs it.
"Living alone is not the greatest. ... People can become isolated without realizing it," said Harvey, recalling how she got snowed in last year. At Covenant Village "they have camaraderie. The people there frequently tell me they wish they had moved in sooner."
It's not cheap to move there, however.
Harvey will pay about $200,000 to buy into the continuing-care community, plus monthly fees. But she'll have the option to get more extensive medical care should her health deteriorate.
"I'm well aware I'm not buying property, I'm buying care," said Harvey, 62. She's comforted knowing her needs will be taken care of as she ages. "I don't want to be a burden for my family members."
Shorter leases an option
Thanks to all the construction, older Northern San Joaquin Valley residents have more housings options than ever.
While such places as Covenant Village offer lifelong care, others, including Samaritan Village and Bethany Home, rent or lease apartments for shorter terms.
Jim and Arlene Ludlow are excited about moving into a new two-bedroom apartment at Samaritan, which should be completed next spring.
"There's some heartbreak that goes with it," said Jim Ludlow, 84, who will miss his 24-acre ranch along the Tuolumne River near Hickman. "But I need some help taking care of Arlene, and Arlene needs some help taking care of me."
"We have beautiful shade trees here," lamented Arlene Ludlow, 83. "More than anything, I'll miss the view."
But the Ludlows, who have been married 62 years, won't miss the upkeep homeownership requires or the daily rigors of preparing meals and driving to doctor appointments.
They also are looking forward to participating in some of the activities at Samaritan, where 104 new apartments will join the 134 independent and assisted-living units already on its 20 acres.
After teaching speech classes for many years at Modesto Junior College, Jim Ludlow said he wants to join Samaritan's Toastmasters Club and do some volunteer work there.
"We try to accommodate different interests here," said Dan Aguilar, Samaritan's administrator. He said many residents there, who are age 60 and up, are socially active. They're physically active, too, so the expansion includes a fitness center.
"There is true unmet need for this kind of one-stop shop, especially with all the baby boomers retiring," Aguilar said.
Apartments being built at the nonprofit village cost $1,400 to $3,200 a month, including meals and housekeeping services. All but about 10 of them are spoken for, even though they won't be ready until about March.
Most units already reserved
Most of the apartments being built at Bethany Home in Ripon also are reserved.
"I have about eight left," said Mary Riemersma, Bethany's manager. The first 49 of 79 new apartments are nearing completion, and they will rent for about $1,750 per month, not including meals or housekeeping.
"People are living longer. That's the key," Riemersma said, explaining the growing demand for senior housing. "They want to enjoy life and not worry about upkeep."
Bethany, which is run by a charity, already has 131 apartments, which rent for less but have a long waiting list. It also has 143 beds in assisted-living and skilled-nursing facilities.
Some of the region's senior facilities do have space available.
Stratford at Beyer Park in Modesto, which was built in 2003 by a private investment company, has a few of its 74 apartments open. They rent for $2,495 to $4,395 a month, including meals.
Not everyone is ready for group living, however. That's why new home subdivisions designed just for them are popping up in the valley.
At Pulte Homes' project for active adults, Woodbridge by Del Webb, houses are selling from $348,000 to $533,000. Amenities include an enclosed track, indoor pool, fitness center, exercise studio, demonstration kitchen, arts and crafts studio, billiards room and multipurpose room.
Another adult community is being developed in Los Banos, where K. Hovnanian Homes is building 185 houses, priced from $226,000 to $266,000.
In Modesto, 70 condos named Davante Senior Villas have been proposed by the Silver Oak Land Co. If approved by the city, construction could start next year.
The need for all types of senior-oriented housing is expected to continue as baby boomers age.
Between 2000 and 2020, the number of Californians 65 and older is expected to increase more than 70 percent, according to Aging Services of California, a statewide association representing senior housing organizations.
Bee staff writer J.N. Sbranti can be reached at 578-2196 or jnsbranti@modbee.com.
Copyright (c) 2006, The Modesto Bee, Calif.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.
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