Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | January 20, 2020 | Worcester Business Journal 9 R E A L E S T A T E F O C U S Did you know our lists are available for download? Our lists can be your lists! • Choose the format that best meets your needs – PDF or Excel • Download any individual list or a combination of lists • Get extended lists not available anywhere else Our Lists are the only comprehensive source for information on the region's companies, executives and industries that drive Central Massachusetts' economy and market. Worcester Business Journal WBJ Questions? Want to be included on a List? Contact Timothy Doyle at tdoyle@nebusinessmedia.com. ACCESS THE LISTS TODAY! Order now at wbjournal.com/lists-data Information is POWER! gym and yoga room, an outdoor fire pit and bocce and tennis courts. Such amenities have been drawing people in or nearing retirement to com- munities where they can get to know others in a similar stage of life. "e socialization aspect of it is really important," said Beth Mace, the chief economist at the Maryland-based National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care. "People want to be with other people instead of being lonely at home alone." Reaching a population bubble With the youngest Baby Boomers now beyond 55, the growth of such so- called active adult communities is taking advantage of a population bubble. According to U.S. Census Bureau estimates, 29% of Massachusetts residents in 2017 were 55 or older. at's up from 25% about a decade prior, and a potential pool of nearly 2 million residents. e National Association of Home Builders estimated by last year homes headed by someone 55 or older would constitute more than 45% of all American households. A relatively new housing trend, active-adult housing has been evolving, too. It used to be primarily about having a first-floor master bedroom to eliminate having to navigate stairs, and small yards making upkeep easier. Now it's more oen about finding social and fitness activities for residents who might be retirees itching for something to do and people to meet. Baby Boomers are more likely to stay active in retirement than the generation before them, Mace said, and they like to pack their calendars with leisure activities or things like cooking classes. Active adult communities are becoming more common as a way to meet that need. "ey're oen pretty highly amenitized," Mace said of such communities, "and oen for higher- income residents." With so many amenities – combined with the high costs of new construction – living in these communities isn't something everyone can afford. Del Webb Chauncy Lake will start at $299,995 for a condominium, but others will be significantly higher, especially for standalone homes or townhomes: $541,995 at Regency at Glen Ellen, and $824,995 at Highcrest at Meadow Walk in Sudbury. Adding needed homes To help justify clubhouses and common amenities, these developments can sometimes be among the largest developments ongoing in the area. e biggest 55-plus development underway in Central Massachusetts is the 700-unit Del Webb Chauncy Lake. e complex is being built on the former Westborough State Hospital site, with the first of an eventual 14 residential buildings set to open in February. Residents will have access to leisure activities on Chauncy Lake, which the complex overlooks, as well as an 11,000-square-foot clubhouse where a range of activities will take place from card games to yoga. "It's really the heart of the community," said Melanie Chatterton, the site's sales consultant. Living aside a golf course used to be a staple of a typical retirement living. Now, ironically, with the declining popularity of golf, a few of these communities – Regency at Glen Ellen and the 129-unit Millwood Preserve in Framingham – are being built on former golf course sites. Others are being built on what was largely underutilized land before, providing new residences at a time when few new homes are being added to the market. e Lanterns at Warren Woods in Ashland has more than 90 units on a previously wooded site across the street from athletic fields and the Ashland Reservoir. Brooksmont in Holliston is on a wooded site behind what was a single-family home off Route 126, and 59 North Main in Sherborn has 12 units on site of an old dilapidated home. Among the largest active-adult communities being built in the area, the Regency at Glen Ellen will have 324 units. More than 80 homes were sold in the first year of sales, said Pauline Teas, the site's senior sales manager. e property has been drawing mostly locals but also people looking to move back to be closer to family, from places like Arizona or the Carolinas, she said. What was at first another major draw when active-adult communities gained popularity – an easier lifestyle – has been replaced by an urge to be active, she said. "When we first started out, we pushed maintenance-free living," Teas said. "Now, people are looking for more." 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 Single-family homes Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 Multifamily condominiums 72 53 Homebuilding optimism Notes: The survey asks respondents to rate conditions as "good," "fair" or "poor." The answers are to each question are converted to a diffusion-type index that lies on a scale of 0 to 100, where an index number of 50 occurs when equal numbers of respondents rate conditions as good (or high to very high) and poor (or low to very low). Numbers are seasonally adjusted. Source: National Association of Home Builders The National Association of Home Builders creates a composite index every quarter of how its membership feels about the economic conditions for each type of home. The higher the score, the more optimistic its members are. Home builders have been increasingly optimistic about conditions for building 55-plus housing in the past decade. W

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