SYMPOSIUM ATTENDEES DEBATE OVER WHETHER ACTIVE ADULTS’ HOMES SHOULD CONTAIN TWO MASTER SUITES
Having two master suites in homes for active adults was debated at a new ideas session at Building for Boomers and Beyond: Seniors Housing Symposium 2001 in Phoenix earlier this year. According to Genevieve Buck of the Chicago Tribune, some in the audience laughed, some nodded in agreement. "Makes sense," said one panelist. "He snores, or maybe she snores. One of them never gets any sleep."
Others noted that one partner might be disabled or ill and two master suites provide a solution. Maybe they might be called equal opportunity bedrooms. Another builder pointed out that "It’s not always a Mr. and Mrs. Thing. A single adult child may be caring for an aged parent or parents and they each want separate bedrooms and bathrooms."
The demand for this type of arrangement is evident in the models of Cambridge Homes, one of the long-time builders of active adult communities in the Chicago area. Yvonne Parise, sales representative at Carillion Lakes in Crest Hill said two of the most popular models of the community’s five single-family house plans are the Greenbriar and the Palm Springs. Each has a pair of master bedrooms/bathrooms. She said some buyers of those plans simply want to provide private and ample space for guests. For more information go to http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/ and search for "Why can't two masters serve a home"
back to top
SOME EMPTY NESTERS WANT TO STAY IN FIRST RING OF SUBURBS IN CLEVELAND
In Cleveland, Ohio empty nesters like Harlow and Jennifer Akins want to leave behind their sprawling 1911 colonial house with 12 rooms where they spent 28 years raising two sons. They want a break from home maintenance, but not from homeownership and familiar surroundings, according to Frank Bentayou, a reporter for the Cleveland Plain Dealer newspaper.
Their timing seems to be good. The newspaper reported that for the first time in decades the twelve cities hugging Cleveland from the east, south and west are spawning new homes. As part of the swelling tide of empty nesters (as well as adventuresome younger home seekers) the Akins have been sweeping the areas for a high-quality, newly constructed residence within the familiar ring of suburbs where they feel life is right.
Bentayou said developers are finding the land to build these new houses on old building sites, along hillsides previously thought unbuildable, and basically any place that can accommodate a burgeoning desire for new homes in old neighborhoods, according to the reporter. For more information go to http://www.cleveland.com and click on The Plain Dealer.
back to top
PLANS BEING MADE FOR STRICTLY GAY OLDER ADULT COMMUNITIES
A few gay-friendly retirement villages already exist in Florida. But the Chicago Tribune reported that plans are underway to develop a handful of strictly gay older-adult communities all across the country, from Boston to San Francisco.
"We hope to create a community around lifestyles and activities," said Jay Silver, president of Rainbow Vision Properties, Inc., the Santa Fe company planning a gay and lesbian retirement project there. "Demand is growing for this type of property," he told Jane Adler, a reporter for the Tribune. She noted that the U.S. Census Bureau estimates that 2.9 million gays and lesbians will be at least 55 years old by 2005. In 2010, the number is expected to jump to 3.6 million.
The first few attempts to establish gay and lesbian retirement villages show promise, according to Adler. The Palms of Manasota near St. Petersburg, Florida has about 50 residents of single-family homes. A manufactured housing community in southwest Florida for older lesbians has about 200 residents.
Peter Lundberg of Lundberg Group in San Francisco intends to create communities called Our Town for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender residents. He thinks the first Our Town community will be located near San Francisco where there is a large population of gays and lesbians. He expects Our Town to open in three to five years. His market survey indicated that most respondents prefer a community that includes both men and women. He envisions communities of up to 100 units. Go to http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/ and insert "Gays create new niche for senior communities" to view an abstract of the article. A fee is required to view the whole article.
back to top
AGENCY WARNS HOW HIGH UTILITY BILL FEAR MAY LEAD TO DEATH IN EXTREME HEAT
This year extreme heat is of particular concern because of the energy problems facing many areas of the country, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) warned. Some individuals may be fearful of high utility bills and limit their use of air conditioning. Such action, the agency said, places individuals who are already at risk for heat illness at increased risk.
The number of heat-related deaths is significant. The CDC said each year more people in the United States die from extreme heat than from hurricanes, lightning, floods and earthquakes combined. From 1979 to 1998, a total of 7,421 deaths that occurred in this country were attributed to excessive heat exposure. On average approximately 300 people die each year from exposure to heat.
Air conditioning is the number one protective factor against heat-related illness and death. Brownouts that last a few hours will likely have little effect on people’s health, according to the CDC. However, some people’s fear of high utility bills could lead to limiting their use of air conditioning and that could be a problem. For more information go to http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/hsb/extremeheat/
back to top
STUDY SAYS MAJORITY OF HOUSEHOLDS WILL HAVE SUFFICIENT RESOURCES FOR RETIREMENT
Although many workers feel they are behind schedule for planning and saving for retirement, adopting a broader interpretation of savings suggests that a majority of households will in fact have sufficient resources for retirement, according to a paper recently released by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College.
According to the study’s author, Cori E. Uccello, senior health fellow at the American Academy of Actuaries, future retirees may need to rely more heavily than current retirees on household savings to fund their retirement years. This is due to the uncertainty of future social security benefits and the shift in private pensions from defined benefit to defined contribution plans. Uccello believes it is important to continue monitoring savings behavior to assess whether it is adequate to meet future retirement needs.
Uccello said these findings are different from the reports in the popular press that often warn that Americans are not saving enough for retirement. She added that surveys that ask people about their retirement preparedness yield mixed results. In particular, the researcher said, these studies exhibit one or more of the following limitations:
- They ignore housing equity;
- They ignore other sources of income that can be used to finance consumption during retirement; and/or
- They disregard continued saving prior to retirement.
For more information about the study, go to http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/csom/executive/crr/ib_7.shtml
back to top
AUTHOR SEES NEW STRUGGLE LOOMING AHEAD OVER SEGREGATION BY AGE
Author Hila Coleman, who is in her 90s, said in the New York Times that she sees a new struggle looming ahead over segregation by age. "In a society that aims to be inclusive, why should older people be encouraged to live in a separate community? Most senior housing complexes are sterile—totally lacking the vitality that a generationally-mixed community thrives on."
"Many people face old age just waiting to die, so society (and developers and government) hand them a group of "activities" to keep them busy, to keep them occupied among people their own age, out of the sight of children, away from a flourishing community. Too often they have limited access to streets to walk on, shops to visit, churches, libraries, museums and other cultural centers."
Coleman said housing complexes ought to be designed for all ages, with some apartments appropriate for older people and others suited to the needs of younger people with families. Young mothers, as well as the elderly, she said, can benefit from what is now offered in many senior complexes, like in-house restaurants, beauty parlors, libraries and on-site nurses and doctors.
"For sure, age-integrated housing will not cure the generation gap, but perhaps it is a way to help older people get over adopting judgmental attitudes toward the young. As for young people, it would do them no harm to live side by side with older people, to really see us day by day, recognizing that we are still people." To read Coleman’s full editorial, go to http://www.nytimes.com/2001/08/15/opinion/15COLM.html
back to top
NEW SURVEY DATA SHOWS MILLIONS OF GRANDPARENTS RAISING GRANDCHILDREN ALONE
A new survey conducted in conjunction with the 2000 Census includes the first state-by-state information on grandparents caring for grandchildren as well as the best state-by-state estimates of poverty in a decade. According to an analysis of the grandparents’ data by the Children’s Defense Fund (CDF);
- Nationwide, 5.6 million grandparents lived with grandchildren under 18 in 2000.
- An estimated 2.4 million of these grandparents were responsible for raising the grandchildren. Among grandparents who lived with grandchildren, the portion responsible for raising them ranged from about one-fourth (26 percent) in Hawaii to two-thirds (67 percent) in North Dakota.
- Among grandparents responsible for grandchildren, one in five (18.9 percent) lived in poverty. Their poverty rate ranged as high as one in three in West Virginia (31.4 percent).
The new survey, known as the Census 2000 Supplementary Survey, includes data on poverty, family structure, and other topics in the 2000 Census long form, but it is being released approximately one year in advance of the 2000 Census data on these topics. For more information go to http://www.census.gov
back to top
