A place where growing older doesn’t mean slowing down
or townhouses. “There’s not much there past your patio, since there are no big yards,” Parker says. --Access to nature and health-conscious amenities is a growing part of community care retirement communities, where seniors can transition into assisted living and nursing facilities. This emphasis on wellness helps residents live independently longer and fits with boomers’ interest in an individualized approach to managing their health.
Retirees Dan and Mary Pence, both 72, who currently live in Washington’s Chevy Chase neighborhood, say that healthy emphasis led them to decide to move to nearby Creekside, a 105-unit retirement community now being constructed by Ingleside in Washington.
The Pences said they expect to downsize from their three-bedroom home to a two-bedroom apartment in 2019 or 2020. “I will be able to care for Dan and be with him as we get older. We like being able to stay in our neighborhood and having ready access to Rock Creek Park,” says Mary Pence, a retired attorney.
For now, the Pences are still active and intend to stay that way. “I still walk a lot and Dan plays tennis, and we expect to be more active with all the facilities in the community.”
Monthly fees at Creekside range from $3,695 to $8,345 per unit and include a 24-hour emergency response service, a flexible meal plan, utilities, weekly housekeeping, maintenance, garage parking and amenities.
Creekside residents will have access to the Center for Healthy Living, a 31,000-square-foot complex planned with a fitness room, yoga studio, wellness clinic, classrooms, dining venues, computer labs, hair salon, game room, ballroom and health-related facilities. A smaller Center for Healthy Living will be built at Gardenside, the planned 125unit addition to Ingleside’s continuing care community at King Farm in Rockville.
Monique Eliezer, chief sales marketing officer at Ingleside, says the design and development of the wellness centers are based on intensive consumer research.
“The senior industry is changing to accommodate baby boomers’ demands for healthy living, continuous intellectual growth, cultural diversity and longevity,” Eliezer says. “For boomers, wellness is a must.”