For GLC Development Resources, the idea isn’t just to help adults maintain active lifestyles. It’s also to bring them back to school.
With its Campus Communities projects, the Boston-based firm creates residential developments near or next to a college or university campus. The residents of the communities then act as mentors and occasional lecturers to the students.
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Dave Fulton, a project manager at GLC Development, said such communities are a good fit for a growing segment of the housing market – aging consumers who want to remain active.
“The demand is changing for the 50-plus market,” Fulton said. “They’re looking for different types of markets. Some want a vibrant lifestyle.”
Developers across the state are working to meet the demands of this growing market. Baby boomers, born between 1946 and 1964, represent the largest segment of the U.S. population, with about 77.5 million falling in that age bracket. So, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, by 2012 the number of residents 55 years or older will reach about 100 million.
In Rhode Island as of May 2006, the number of residents ages 55 to 74 was more than 162,000, accounting for 15.5 percent of the state’s population.
Highlighting the trend locally, the 50+ New England Housing Council’s annual fall symposium, to be held in Seekonk on Nov. 1 and 2, will focus on the revitalization of the Providence area’s residential market.
With condominium projects such as The 903 Residences opening this year – and the slated openings in coming years of the One Ten Luxury Residences, The Residences at the Westin and WaterPlace – more than nearly 700 upscale condominiums will have been added to the city’s downtown, all of which are being marketed in part to “empty nesters.”
Other projects catering to that market include apartment complexes such as the ones developed by Cornish Associates LLP in downtown Providence. According to Ari Heckman, director of marketing and retail leasing for Cornish, 15 percent of the company’s units are occupied by people 50 or older.
According to Fulton, who is vice chair of the 50+ New England Housing Council’s steering committee for next month’s symposium, the downtown projects meet the demand among people who are looking to move away from the suburbs and into a more vibrant community that has amenities and cultural activities within walking distance.
But in Rhode Island, the empty nesters aren’t just claming the city as their home. Developers are also catering to over-50 residents in the suburbs, with projects such as the Douglas Terrace Apartments in North Providence and The Villages on Mount Hope Bay in Tiverton, which has been acclaimed as one of the best mid-sized active adult communities in the country by the National Association of Home Builders.
GLC’s Campus Communities – modeled on similar developments at Pennsylvania State University and Holy Cross College – appeal to active, educated and financially comfortable people who view retirement as a time for “personal exploration and opportunity to try new experiences, not as a time for winding down and retreating from society,” according to the company’s Web site.
Colin P. Kane – principal of the Peregrine Group LLC, who with partner Kirkbrae Development Corp. is developing Rumford Center in East Providence for the active adult market – said the mixed-use model is attractive to the aging consumer.
One of the key selling points, Kane said, is the “level of finish” each unit comes with. A first-time homebuyer is more likely to purchase a house that needs work than a person who has already owned a home.
“They’re ready for quality out of the gate,” Kane said of older buyers. “I think they’re fairly discerning purchasers.”
