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Today’s
retirement communities are more like hotels or resorts than the
cinderblock nursing homes built in the past.
By Peter Downs
Aging is becoming big business —especially in commercial real estate.
Once limited to the Sun Belt, luxury retirement communities are
popping up all over St. Louis and the Midwest as elderly people
return to their roots to be near their families.
Lutheran Senior Services and Sunrise Assisted Living, both national
players in the development of retirement communities, have jumped
head first into the St. Louis market—offering upscale accommodations
to seniors that speak to the transitions of age and retirement wealth.
Sunrise, which just opened its first assisted living center in St.
Louis, already is negotiating for four more sites in the metropolis.
Four years ago, Paric Corp. saw this emerging trend coming and set
Lawrence B. Krapfl, vice president of the company’s hospitality
and residential division, on a mission to capture the market. Krapfl,
assembled a design and development team that explored the nuances
of building for the elderly. Since 1997, the company has built more
senior retirement communities in the St. Louis area than any other
contractor. Those projects include:
- $6
million McCormack House retirement community
- $4.3
million Richmond Terrace retirement community
- $19
million Cape Albeon in southwest St. Louis County
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$8 million Sunrise Assisted Living Community in Chesterfield
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$28 million Hallmark of Creve Coeur—a Brookdale Senior
Living complex being built in St. Louis County
- $65
million Meramec Bluffs—a multi-phased 700,000-square-foot
project overlooking the Meramec River in Valley Park.
It will be the largest retirement community in the St.
Louis area.
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According to Krapfl, these modern retirement communities bear little
resemblance to the cinderblock nursing homes built in the 1960s
and ’70s. Instead, they are reminiscent of grand hotel resorts.
In addition to apartments and cottages, they have heated, indoor
swimming pools with adjoining massage/fitness centers; restaurant-style
dining rooms; beauty shops; chapel/multi-purpose rooms; garden rooms;
libraries; and multiple activity centers.
People “would be shocked to see the lifestyles these communities
have adopted,” he says. “We’ve come to expect more than our parents
did.”
The architectural firm ACI/Boland, Inc., has focused on this market
as well, designing the Jewish Center for the Aged, which is under
construction on Highway 40; Meramec Bluffs; Hallmark of Creve Coeur;
and participated in the design of a whole series of Sunrise Assisted
Living Centers. They also designed upgrades and renovations for
Brooking Park, Gardenview Care Center, Manor Care, and Manor Groves.
Robert Boland, principal at the firm, says the design intent is
to try to mimic the lifestyle people are used to, while adding on
one or more layers of care. Higher end retirement communities will
offer services similar to those offered in luxury resorts, including
concierge services, educational programs, recreational activities,
social opportunities and devotional services. “Designing retirement
communities is becoming a real specialty,” he says. “They need as
much quality as people put into luxury condominiums, while recognizing
their particular needs. You won’t recognize them if you’re looking
for the old style nursing homes that existed for many years.”
The biggest trend, Boland says, is what are called “continuum of
care” or “aging in place” options. A single complex will offer independent
living villas, assisted living apartments, and skilled nursing care,
so a person can age gracefully through the levels of dependency
from being totally independent to totally dependent. “They try to
keep people as independent, alert, active, and viable for as long
as they can, but when someone can no longer live in one environment,
she is moved to another level, where she might need a little help
maybe with getting dressed, or reminding to take her pills, whatever,
all the way to a skilled nursing center,” he says.
Assisted living, the intermediate level of care, frequently includes
such services as:
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assistance with bathing, dressing, personal hygiene, and
medication monitoring
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a wellness program of regular visits by on-staff nurses
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monitoring of diet and exercise
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housekeeping and linen services and personal laundry service
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sports and recreational activities
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transportation to medical care, shopping and community
services
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regular community visits by dentists, podiatrists, psychiatrists
and psychologists.
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In Krapfl’s words, aging-in-place complexes provide the amenities
where people approaching their elder years can live independently
and enjoy an active life in a community atmosphere where they know
they will be taken care of for the rest of their lives.
The majority of people who move into such communities do so when
they are in their 70s or 80s, says Boland, or when one of the spouses
needs more care, and the other one is looking for a flexible environment
with a support system to help shoulder the burden. Different companies
target different markets—Sunrise Assisted Living Centers, for example,
targets women in their 80s, says Krapfl—and some are starting to
try to attract people as young as 55 or 60.
The $19
million newly completed
Cape Albeon offers residents a
swimming pool as well as other
amenities. |
Currently, there are government subsidized projects to serve low-income
people, such as McCormack House, and privately financed projects
such as Cape Albeon and Sunrise for upper income people, says Krapfl,
but very little for the middle segment of the market.
Another company that has worked on the subsidized end of the market
is BSI Constructors, Inc., which built the Sarah Community, a continuum
of care complex on the campus of DePaul Medical Center in Bridgeton,
and is renovating the Mary Queen of Mothers facility on the Cardinal
Carberry campus.
Project manager James Shaughnessy notes that even subsidized facilities
are having to add expensive-looking finishes to compete in today’s
market. Mary Queen of Mothers was built 20 years ago as a “very
bare bones” facility, he says, and now it can’t compete. “People
are looking for nicer finishes with a homey feel,” he says. As a
result, the renovations the facility is undergoing “are dramatic.
They will reposition it in the marketplace.”
All of this activity is just the beginning of a tremendous amount
of change, Boland says. The rate of people hitting retirement age
is accelerating. Already, one American turns 65 every four seconds,
according to the U.S. Administration on Aging, and the first baby
boomers won’t hit that age for another decade. The aging rate won’t
peak until 2020.
As the elderly population grows, so will the variety of community
options, Krapfl says. “People will find that they can choose a lifestyle,
not just a place to live,” he adds.
Peter Downs is a free-lance writer and editor of Construction
News & Review. |
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