| Valued conveniences include valet parking with covered drop-off areas, secure underground parking that allows easy access to apartments and an on-site concierge service that can handle everything from dry cleaning to restaurant reservations. Other amenities to consider include maid services, high-speed Internet connectivity and gourmet meal delivery. Proximity to shopping, restaurants, services and public transportation also is a big plus. Entertainment: Bingo once a week probably won’t cut it with this crowd. The active adult projects we’re designing provide spas, large-screen theaters, card and billiard rooms, greenhouses and cafés. Consider building on sites close to movie theaters, live entertainment venues, bars and restaurants since it will be nearly impossible to satisfy your residents’ hearty appetite for entertainment on-site. Two factors that can substantially impact your ACE quotient are floor plans and location. Floor plans: Scrap the notion that all seniors are looking to downsize. Boomers have money and are willing to spend it on space. Whereas the typical 62+ unit averages around 600 square feet, the luxury units we’ve been designing for active adults range from 750-1,400 square feet. Other developments we’re aware of have units as large as 2,400 square feet. Boomer rental units should include a deluxe master bedroom and bathroom as well as a second bedroom and bathroom. While active seniors may not need a huge kitchen for those precooked gourmet meals, this market is keen on entertaining at home. Spacious living rooms are a must, and if they are combined with dining areas and adjacent to open kitchens, that’s all the better.
Location: Active adults — and I would argue, even some less mobile ones — don’t want to be isolated. They seek homes that are convenient to upscale retail, public transportation, fine dining, coffee shops, biking paths, hiking trails, art galleries, concerts and other cultural activities. Think beyond suburbia; vibrant urban areas offer some terrific prospective sites. The fact that more communities for seniors are springing up near colleges and retail areas is no accident. One of our projects is located in a commercial district within an easy walk of great shopping, restaurants and movies. Although the community is being framed up at this time, more than 300 prospects have expressed interest in the community. Another project is located adjacent to the University of Maryland, which has an abundance of recreation, entertainment and educational offerings. The aging boomer population presents an enormous opportunity to develop rental properties for affluent consumers. Best positioned for success will be those developments that address residents’ desire for activity, convenience and entertainment. Consider this your official challenge to tap into the active adult rental market and find ways to creatively and profitably boost the ACE factor in new luxury rental communities. Ed Hord is a Fellow in the American Institute of Architects and a principle in Hord Coplan Macht, a Baltimore-based architectural and landscape firm that has designed more than 9,000 multifamily housing units since1977. Hord is a member of the NAHB Seniors Housing Council and has designed communities for the full range of seniors needs — active adult, independent living, assisted living and nursing care. For more information, e-mail Hord or call him at 410-837-7311. | 
A private market study recently conducted in the Washington, D.C.-Baltimore area indicated that there is a significant untapped opportunity for builders of luxury apartments in the active adult rental market. 