Shades of gray: developing a seniors-housing niche means splitting a few hairs

Residential Architect, Jan-Feb, 2004 by Cheryl Weber

aging in place

Three years ago, James, Harwick Partners, Dallas, coattailed into seniors housing after funding for a HOPE VI project fell through. The developer, with whom JH P had worked for 15 years, quickly put together creative financing that supported two multifamily independent-living projects on a portion of the site. One was a three-story building with an elevator, the other a one-story building with four units. "We learned that once you provide an elevator, it's most efficient to go to a three- or four-story building, getting as many units per floor as you can and reducing the footprint, or the distance people have to walk," says Ron Harwick, AIA. "It's hard for residents to navigate long corridors."

Through research, the firm has also learned that multifamily seniors units should be 50 to 75 square feet larger than similar market-rate apartments. That's because most residents are leaving homes in which they've raised children and have gathered furniture over the years that's sized for a larger house. "When they make the transition to an apartment, they ought to be able to bring some of the things that are near and dear to them," Harwick says. "We needed to educate developers about the need to upsize the living areas in the units, and the costs associated with that." Nevertheless, he points out that the discipline of multifamily work--avoiding unnecessary circulation space such as hallways and creating rooms that look bigger--works particularly well for seniors, who want step-saving lay outs that feel expansive.

JH P is partnering with the Atlanta Housing Authority and developer Columbia Residential on its second such project, subsidized seniors housing. The 132-unit rental complex will include amenities usually reserved for higher-end projects: large computer rooms, a dining area where food is brought from off site, an arts-and-crafts room, a library, a fitness center, and a movie theater. "We had seniors housing pegged for the last four or five years as a growth niche market and did the appropriate research so we could handle it when the opportunity came along," Harwick says. "Now we're doing independent living, but we're headed toward assisted living and even more institutional-type markets."

care package

Baby boomers are a moving target. With increasing age come increasing health challenges. Over the years, the mix of amenities in active-adult communities has shifted. Clubhouses now include offices for dentists and doctors. Small-scale medical care facilities appear on site. In a bid to hold on to clients as they grow older, developers and land planners are designating sites in or near master-planned communities for a hospital or Mayo clinic, assisted living, and continuing care.

Don Evans, AIA, The Evans Group, Orlando, Fla., is keeping pace with aging boomers. Twenty-five percent of his firm's work is in seniors housing now, compared with 10 percent a decade ago, though most clients assign the medical components to specialists. "We find ourselves doing these retirement projects on a joint-venture basis," he says. "We're responsible for certain portions of it and over see the project with municipalities, but are told to use a particular firm for the design of the total life-care facility."