Changing Aging

New senior housing development could become one of country’s few LEED-Certified Communities

SHOREVIEW, MN, June 17, 2008 — http://www.ecumen.org – Aging services provider Ecumen, one of the country’s largest non-profit senior housing companies, is developing a green senior housing for North Country Health services in Bemidji, Minn. It is seeking to be one of the country’s few LEED-certified (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) senior housing developments.

The $20 million senior housing development, to be owned by North Country Health Services and developed by Ecumen, is being built using environmentally friendly or “green” features and methods. For example, underground parking will lessen impervious surface space and reduce water use, lighting features will prevent light and energy waste, and many construction materials will be harvested locally.

North Country Health Services and Ecumen plan to submit the project for third-party LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification from the United States Green Building Council.

“Three words stood out as we began to shape this project – mission, vibrancy and sustainability,” said Jim Hanko, president and CEO of North Country Health Services. “The new housing will complement our mission of assuring a lifetime continuum of quality healthcare services, it will be a vibrant community that allows people to live in Bemidji for a lifetime, and it will help sustain natural resources that we all share.”

“This project fully embraces a philosophy that aging is all about living,” said Sandy Bensen, North Country Health Services’ (NCHS) vice president of senior and community living services. “This will be a community that promotes healthy, successful aging and that honors and celebrates a person’s life to its very end.”

Slated for a late-summer groundbreaking, the senior housing development will include independent living apartments, assisted living apartments, and memory care apartments. The link to the NCHS mission is most evident with the “aging in place” concept where older adults can move in not needing any services and as they age, assisted living services are brought to them when they need them and on an ala carte basis. All living spaces will link to Neilson Place, the North Country Health Services skilled nursing care center that opened in 2004. The project is anticipated to open in the fall of 2009.

When completed, the Anne Street site will have more than 148,000 square feet of livable space in two buildings. Eighty catered living apartment homes, which feature independent living and assisted living, will have underground parking. The one-story memory care building will have 27 studio apartments.

Other features will include a library and media center, grand fireplace lounge, commercial kitchen and dining room, two guest motel-like suites, a hair salon and barber shop, community room, fitness room, and outdoor patios and walking paths.

“We’re extremely proud to be working with North Country Health Services and helping make this shared vision become a reality,” said Steve Ordahl, senior vice president of business development for Ecumen.

About North Country Health Services
North Country Health Services (www.nchs.com) is a community-owned, not-for-profit health system comprised of North Country Regional Hospital, Neilson Place, Baker Park, Bemidji Medical Equipment, and the North Country Health Services Foundation.

About Ecumen
Ecumen (www.ecumen.org) is based in Shoreview, Minn., and is one of the largest non-profit senior housing, services and development companies in the United States. The name Ecumen comes from the word ecumenical, which in turn is derived from the Greek word for home: “Oikos.” Ecumen’s mission is to create “home” for older adults wherever they choose to live. Ecumen is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and has 4,000 team members. Ecumen writes about news and ideas that are shaping the future of aging services at its Changing Aging blog: http://www.ecumen.org/changing-aging/

Many people have visions of developing senior housing, but what separates dreams from ground breaking cermonies is the people with vision who put the right team together.  Essential to this effort is a financing partner.  Senior Housing Financing Options is a new Ecumen whitepaper that outlines some of the key financing options for would-be senior housing owners.  Download here.

Recently, I had the opportunity to sit in on a session about congregational senior housing at the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Eastern Washington/Idaho Synod Assembly.  I learned some interesting things about how this type of collaboration makes so much sense for communities and congregations of all denominations seeking to ride the age wave and expand ministry work.

Presenters were Pastor Dave Olson of First Lutheran Church in Sandpoint, Idaho, Steve Ordahl, senior vice president of business development at Ecumen and Dana Wollschlager, director of real estate development at Ecumen.  First Lutheran Church and Ecumen are developing senior housing called Luther Park of Sandpoint, which will be connected to First Lutheran Church (above is an architectural rendering).  Ecumen is the developer and will manage it upon opening later this year. 

5 Key Points About Congregational Senior Housing:

1.  Builds Connections Across Generations: Pastor Dave elevates with excitement when he talks about the opportunities for intergenerational connections at First Lutheran.  First Lutheran operates an early childhood learning program that will be enhanced by the wisdom and friendships of new neighbors at Luther Park.  And he sees Luther Park’s new residents benefitting from learning from their young friends.  Congregational senior housing can be an effective vehicle for fostering meaningful intergenerational connections.

2.  Creates Bridges in the Community: I assumed that it would be all people who are already connected with First Lutheran who are moving to Luther Park.  My assumption was wrong.  There are a number of people who don’t attend First Lutheran today who are moving in.  Also, Pastor Dave talks about how a lot more people know about First Lutheran in the Sandpoint area now that they are offering this housing option.  It’s building bridges in the community.

3.  Enhances What It Means to be a Community: The most successful congregations and most successful senior housing are truly “communities,” not simply bricks and mortar.  People care for each other . . . respect each other . . . learn from each other . . . grow and develop . . . and are proud of being member of their congregation and their neighborhood.  Congregational senior housing can capture and enhance what it means to be a community.

4.  Provides Another Appealing Draw to the Church:  As I listened to Pastor Dave explain the many neat things about this expansion of First Lutheran’s ministry, you can see how the church-senior housing integration can be a draw to attract new members to a parish.  You immediately sense that this is a place that has vision and is committed to being there for their parishoners for the long-term.  That’s a comforting thought.

5.  Expands Ministry Resources:  Pastor Dave conveyed how Luther Park will provide positive cash flow to First Lutheran Church.  Congregational senior housing is a ministry that if done right can generate financial resources to benefit and help expand other ministries and create new synergies that make churches and communities stronger.

A lot of people talk about the challenges of a large, aging population.  As First Lutheran Church of Sandpoint is showing, there are also a lot of opportunities.

There are a lot of senior housing and aging services professionals in a whole bunch of different professional sectors from journalism to technology to health care to development, but there are few online resourcs to bring them together. I want to share with you a new resource called Mature Market Experts.

It’s a free networking group connecting investors, bankers, real estate developers, consumer goods companies, health care professionals, journalists and marketing experts who are interested in serving the senior marketplace. In short, if you serve, market to, or write about people who are 50+, this is the group for you. The goal of this group is to help members:

- Reach other members of Mature Market Experts

- Accelerate networking/careers/business through referrals from Mature Market Experts members

- Know more than a name - view rich professional profiles from fellow Mature Market Experts Group members

To join, go to group founder and moderator Tom Mann’s LinkedIn profile, http://www.linkedin.com/in/trmannconsulting and scroll down until you see the Mature Market Experts badge. Just click on it and send an email explaining that you’d like to join and what your connection is to the 50+ marketplace.

In addition, the group has a blog (http://maturemarketexperts.wordpress.com/). The goal of the blog is to keep you up to date with current senior trends and profession news and serve as a collection point for profession related events. Contributors will include:

-Mark Miller writes Retire Smart, a weekly newspaper column syndicated by Tribune Media Services, and publishes RetirementRevised, the online companion to the column. He also has a wonderful blog 50+ Digital.

- Dan Rexford, Partner, Equity Partners Inc. Dan is the former Executive Vice President of Marketing at Erickson Retirement Communities, with over 18 years in the retirement community industry.

-Jodi Rudick, author. Jodi is putting the finishing touches on a book to be published by Human Kinetics focused on programming/marketing recreation services to baby boomers.

- Tom Mann, President, TR Mann Consulting, which is an independent marketing consulting firm focused on real estate, media and the senior marketplace.  His clients include 50+ communities, health care companies and media outlets, including GRAND, a magazine written for today’s active grandparents.

I also will occasionally contribute, and the group is also looking for bloggers from other areas to contribute (i.e. doctors, bankers, social workers, etc.) If you are interested, contact Tom Mann at trmann@verizon.net.

The Villages of North Branch, an Ecumen community pictured above just north of Minneapolis has been named as one of the country’s top designed senior housing communities by a panel of judges convened by Design Magazine. 

The 14-member panel of judges, which included a number of leading national architects, selected The Villages of North Branch as one of four winners for top design in the March issue of Design.  Thirty-seven senior housing designs from across the nation qualified for the judging process. 

The Ecumen community was honored for its focus on empowering residentsm its use of technology, household-based care philosophy and interior design.  The Villages of North Branch provides assisted living, memory care, rehabilitation and nursing services.

To see what senior housing and care services looked like in North Branch before The Villages, go here.  Talk about a new day.

The design of senior housing is undergoing a number of changes.  Below are two newer designs of several that recently received Merit Awards from the American Institute of Architects (AIA).  You can see the others there.  You can also download our white paper “A New Day and New Trends in Senior Housing Development”

This project by Hebrew SeniorLife is a slated to be completed next year and will be a multigenerational community with a K-8 school. This continuing care retirement communtiy is planned to include clustered cottages, 12-unit villa living, and two-story penthouse units served by elevators. Care services will be provided using “small house” principles.

This planned 30-story, 224 unit tower called Mirabella is part of the developing South Waterfront District in Portland, and offers an urban environment with a number of amenities within easy walking distance. a Portland Retirement Services community, it will provide all levels of senior care, including independent apartments, residential living, memory care, and nursing care.

Churches across America have a tremendous opportunity to play a significantly positive role in the aging of America by helping create vibrant communities that bring multiple generations together.

Looking closer at this emerging leadership role, we have introduced a white paper entitled: “A New Wrinkle on Aging, Congregational Senior Housing.”  Author Kay Harvey shares one congregation’s experience as it turns a vision into reality.

In an earlier post we discussed 10 senior housing development trends for 2008.  Another big change is the size of apartments or condos.

Consider these stats from the National Apartment Association:

In the 1950s, the average size of a new single-family home was 983 square feet. By 2006, that number had more than doubled, reaching a record 2,469 square feet. Today, 39 percent of new homes have four or more bedrooms (At Changing Aging, we ask, who sleeps in all those bedrooms?), almost double the rate of 20 years ago, and 26 percent of new homes have three or more bathrooms, nearly tripling the rate in 1986.

In the 1980s, many senior housing developers created an influx of studio apartments.  While many people want to rightsize from a single family home, they still desire ample privacy and space.  Now you are seeing multiple bedrooms, full kitchens, dens, offices and other features such as robust fitness centers that weren’t in senior housing just 10 years ago.

More information on senior housing development trends can be found in our white paper: A New Day and New Trends in Senior Housing Development.

Look for these 10 senior housing development trends from 2007 to pick up even more steam in 2008 as the age wave gains force:

1.  Congregational Senior Housing:  People want to live in nurturning, vibrant communities.  Churches want to extend their ministries, strengthen their congregations and build community.  Congregational senior housing, such as the visionary ELCA project in Sandpoint, Idaho is a win-win.

2.  College Campus Senior Housing:  Lifelong learning is a key part of successful aging.  Look for more colleges to create intergenerational communities and see the benefits of senior learners and neighbors.

3.  Increased Technology:  Technology is allowing members of the sandwich generation to be greater participants in their parents’ lives and care.  At the same time, it is giving people more control over their health and independence.  Look for increased growth in interactive technology in 2008.

4.  Memory Care:  Every 72 seconds someone develops Alzheimer’s Disease.  New memory care households focus solely on the challenges of Alzheimer’s and dementia, while eliminating the institutional style of the past.

5.  Green Construction:  Enviro-friendly and sustainable development is increasing in senior housing and will continue to grow in 2008.

6.  Catered Living:  Combines independent living and al la carte assisted living services.  This housing type allows a person to stay in their home even when they need or want more assistance.

7.  Smart, Innovative Design:  Look for innovative designers, such as Michael Graves to increasingly bring their skills to aging and using smart, creative design to improve people’s lives. 

8.  Livable Communities:  More cities are getting hip to integrating senior housing close to other community resources such as transportation, shopping and libraries, rather than sticking them in the fringes next to nothing.

9.  Successful Aging Centers:  Look for wellness centers connected to senior housing that help people of all ages and abilities nurture their physical, intellectual, social, emotional, spiritual and vocational health.  These increasingly serve as larger community resources for successful aging.

10:  Virtual Retirement Communities:  In this model, all the amenities of a senior housing community are brought to an exisiting neighborhood, such as the model Beacon Hill Village.  New bricks and mortar might include a very small health center that provides more intensive care when needed.

We invite you to download Ecumen White Papers on a range of subjects related to changing aging, including senior technology and senior housing development tips in our online library

What state is your ideal retirement place?

Below are the top 10 states where retirees 60+ relocate.  The data comes from  Dr. Mark Fagan at Jacksonville State University in Alabama and his report called “Retirement Development and Job Creation.”

 STATE                   NUMBER
1. Florida                     394,254
2. Arizona                   134,583
3. California                 127,757
4. Texas                      100,700
5. North Carolina           74,937
6. Nevada                      61,627
7. Pennsylvania             60,430
8. Virginia                      59,976
9. Georgia                      57,992
10. New Jersey             54,657

It will be interesting to see if other communities or regions, such as Northern Wisconsin where a lot of people from the Twin Cities and Chicago go in the summer, become larger senior housing and healthcare hubs to serve people that want to stay in those areas.