As the industry eagerly anticipates the arrival of baby boomers, intergenerational housing models are emerging as an attractive alternative for a group that wants a different type of retirement experience. Developers, operators and owners are tweaking time-tested intergenerational arrangements and trying new approaches.
Mixing different age groups has benefits for everyone involved, experts say. It’s natural, and the way families lived until we started to move so far apart.
Many elders like being around young children or helping them, since their grandchildren may not live nearby. Adolescents bring energy to a retirement community, with the added benefit of being able to teach seniors how to use their smart phones. Young adults can serve as a labor pool for senior living properties.
College-based or -affiliated life plan communities have been around for decades. But developers are fine-tuning the model at a number of new high-profile college projects now underway. Legacy Pointe at the University of Central Florida, Orlando, is currently under development by the nonprofit CCRC Development Corp. Greystone Communities will manage and market the property. Residents will be able to attend classes and participate in learning programs.
Other types of developments with an intergenerational spin are being rolled out. There are senior living neighborhoods in master-planned communities, retirement buildings with a pre-school on-site, and projects located in dense walkable locations that naturally put elders in proximity to other age groups.
Chicago-based Charter Senior Living recently announced a new, $75 million, mixed-use development in Huntsville, Alabama. The project will include a senior living property, co-working space and a hotel.
Many retirement communities offer some type of intergenerational programming. One-off events are the norm. A life plan community in Chicago, for example, recently brought together residents and young students to assemble backpacks with supplies and toys for children at a nearby homeless shelter.
Some senior living providers offer robust, ongoing intergenerational programs, such as volunteer tutoring opportunities at a nearby school. Mission-driven communities often make outreach to the other age groups a top priority.
Few seniors housing projects include other age groups living on-site. It’s hard to manage families with kids and seniors at the same time.
An exception is the co-housing model, a community that by design includes residents of all ages who help each other and share responsibility for common facilities. Co-housing was pioneered in Denmark and is somewhat popular in Europe.
A handful of co-housing developments are scattered throughout the United States, most notably in California, Colorado, Washington, Oregon and Massachusetts. But the idea of communal living has limited appeal.
