Q&A discusses how the coming “Silver Tsunami” of Baby Boomers is impacing senior housing/retirement communities with Amenta Emma architect Myles R. Brown and Duncaster Retirement Community executive Carol Ann McCormick, who are working together on the expansion of Duncaster Retirement Community in Bloomfield.
Q: How are Baby Boomers changing the face of retirement communities?
Brown: Due to its size, the Baby Boomer generation has always had a major impact on our society and the built environment. In the ’50s, this generation changed the face of housing with the growth of the suburbs and houses built with informal “family rooms,” open floor plans, and large backyards. Now that this huge population is facing retirement, downsizing, and looking for senior-living options, there isn’t enough supply to meet the demand, especially for the type of product they will seek.
McCormick: Baby Boomers expect to have what they have in their current homes. They are looking for warm, spacious, light-filled homes that feel connected to the outdoors, along with upscale finishes and amenities such as hardwood floors, stone countertops, and high-end appliances and fixtures.
Q: What implications does this trend have for architects, designers and developers?
Brown: Much of the existing stock of senior-living housing needs a facelift. There’s a lot of tired product with dated interior finishes and floor plans that don’t serve today’s lifestyle. Retirement communities that don’t do these kinds of renovations will be passed over by Boomers.
McCormick: They also want the provisions for aging in place that their current houses do not have such as accessibility clearances in bathrooms and kitchens, fixtures and counter tops; controls that are set at appropriate heights and the ability to easily add future grab bars for stability in the bathroom.
Q: What is the current demand for retirement communities compared to other housing sectors (single-family homes, apartments, condos)? Where do you see retirement community demand going in the next 5-10 years?
Brown: There’s been a recent boom in multi-family rental housing, but not for condos. Clearly, we expect community demand for retirement living options to go up sharply in the next 10 to 15 years. Right now, there are 40 million people over the age of 65. They make up 13 percent of the population. But, by 2030, all of the Boomers will be past age 65 and they’ll make up 20 percent of the population.
Q: Your firm recently was involved in the design of the Duncaster Retirement Community apartment homes in Bloomfield. How was the design of that project different from retirement housing you’ve worked on in the past?
Brown: At Duncaster and for all of the retirement communities we develop, we take the approach that all residential design should be ageless. Why not design a home where we all want to live both now and later?
In order to be successful, today’s senior communities need to feature what we all want in our lives. When you look at older communities, you find apartments with small disconnected dark spaces, sterile dated finishes, and an overall design that is not well-suited for today’s lifestyle. In the past, it seems like many architects and designers approached senior-housing design as more institutional/less residential, and the results were homes that current and future generations don’t relate to. We worked in close collaboration with Duncaster to make sure their new apartment homes took a much more cross-generational approach to the design.
Q: What else should we know about the changing face of retirement communities?
Brown: In the future, retirement communities will integrate and blend in with the local community and amenities provided will be open to the public. These up-and-coming seniors will also be looking for communities that feel like a town center with walkable, on-site amenities such as wellness centers, multiple dining choices, a market/convenience store, a coffee shop, a bank, and perhaps a theater. Another approach will be to integrate senior communities into existing urban centers where those amenities already exist.
We foresee a time when many will be multigenerational communities. Memory care services are being added at a rapid rate. As Boomers have always been a very socially responsible group with many environmental advocates, sustainability and green building will be integrated and marketed in more communities. Lastly, these communities will have enhanced amenities that support life-long health for the mind and body such as improved fitness centers, bike and nature trails, classrooms for continuing education, and community gardens. Today’s seniors are very interested in retaining their vitality and fitness and they expect to find environments that support these demands.n
