The future of aging in place … is moving?

Seven years ago, Steven and Denise Rosen left their home of 30 years in Los Angeles to move closer to their children and grandchildren at the nation’s first such development, Rancho Mission

Viejo near San Juan Capistrano, California. The Rosens’ 55-plus neighborhood is part of a 6,000-acre housing development that has 4,000 homes so far. When it’s completed in 10 to 15 years,

it will encompass 14,000 homes and apartments, 40 percent of which will be dedicated to 55-plus residents. The development also includes a 23,000-acre combination nature reserve and a

working ranch that has been in the same family since 1882. Steven and Denise Rosen's neighborhood. Adam Amengual The 55-plus neighborhoods of 150 homes are each scattered throughout the

larger community. Residents can have their own pool and activities but also easily enter the rest of the development and mix with families, says Amaya Genaro, vice president of community

services for Rancho Mission Viejo. “You can live in a smaller neighborhood and you’re not worried about basketball being played or kids swerving into the street on their bikes,” Genaro says.

“You can swim at your pool. And when your grandkids come, you can go to the all-age pool. It’s the best of both worlds.” Steven and Denise Rosen walking in their 55-plus neighborhood. Adam

Amengual Being near, if not next door to, families with children “gives more texture to the whole community,” says Steven, 78, who is retired from the shoe business. “We were at the Fourth

of July party, and all these people and kids were there. It’s like going back to when we were kids. Everyone was having a good time.” Says Denise, 71, a former teacher: “It keeps you young

to see young kids and young families.” Sally and Bert at the future Belmont Village Senior Living in Coral Gables, Florida. Jeffery Salter A MULTIUSE COMMUNITY WITH HOUSING AND RETAIL Sally

Russell and her husband, Bert, were looking at independent-living developments in a few cities including Miami, where they had been living. But “all of it was bingo and so forth and so on,”

says Sally, 80. The Russells sought something a little more stimulating. “We are neuropsychologists!” They eventually settled on Belmont Village Senior Living in Coral Gables, Florida, just

outside of Miami. It is part of a trend of multiuse developments that appeal to older people, places that mimic urban neighborhoods with shops, restaurants, libraries and other places of

interest just steps away. Many are affiliated with nearby universities, with hospital-sponsored wellness services in the neighborhood. Residents can receive care in their homes as their

needs increase, and they don’t have to move to different levels of the facility for assisted living or memory care. Belmont Village Senior Living-Renderings of Belmont Village Senior Living

outside Miami. Belmont Village Senior Living Living in a multiuse community is increasingly appealing to aging boomers who want to stay connected and engaged. Boomers “are a gregarious

bunch,” says Patricia Will, founder and CEO of Belmont Village Senior Living, based in Houston, which has multiuse developments in several cities. “This is the generation that lived in

dorms, communes, frat houses, sorority houses, served in the Vietnam War or protested,” Will says. “The desire for vibrant social engagement is ever present. It’s one of the reasons why they

leave their single-family house in the suburbs. They are driven by not wanting to be alone.” Multiuse developments are “a modern take on city living,” says David Schless, president and CEO

of the American Seniors Housing Association. “These were not communities you would have seen 25 years ago. They are not typical for what we used to see developed.” The multiuse model is

“resonating with both seniors and their adult children,” says Steve Marker, the senior vice president of development for Brightview Senior Living, another developer. Its Brightview West End

multiuse development in Rockville, Maryland, is in the middle of Rockville Town Center, the city’s downtown. It includes the county courthouse, a post office, restaurants, hotels, banks and

coffee shops, and it is steps to a Washington, D.C., Metro subway station. “We see continued demand as baby boomers really move into retirement in bigger numbers.”