Luxury Urban Living For The New Older Generation.

By Erica and Karen

 Lovely retirement communities, often on spectacular golf courses, sometimes with water views, have been part of the aging lexicon since the 1950s. And as the older population grows, their number and the nature and extent of their services continues to grow too. The vast majority of them are, as one would expect, in hospitable (or at least formerly hospitable) climates, often though not always in tax-advantaged states (Florida versus North Carolina, for example), and usually not too far from an airport but not too close to a major metropolitan city.

But that’s changing. The real estate industry (and private equity) is beginning to cater to another segment of the older population—those of us who want to stay in the middle of things, with people around, places to go and things to do. They are popping up all over the country in cities everywhere. They offer restaurants, spas, libraries, activities, wine bars, personal shoppers, performing arts studios, gyms—sometimes even a car to take you where you want to go. They also provide on site medical and memory care services—for when you might need them. 

And, importantly, design seems not to have been neglected. Part of the pitch is high end materials and hotel architects and designers who have catered to us for decades. Some developments are more expensive than others, but as they become more popular more options will undoubtedly follow.

We also like the effort by some developers to connect  to the wider urban community, attracting younger folks to gallery spaces, coffee shops and other amenities in order to create the intergenerational connections that are so energizing for all of us. Watermark in Brooklyn Heights (in the Jehovah’s Witness building) is doing a particularly good job of that:

“In June, the senior living facility expanded its public-facing amenities with a new cafe, Willow and Clark, which, like the cafe in Bellevue, looks like any other urban coffee shop. Tapner says the hope is the cafe will be a draw for residents and members of the surrounding community, giving seniors an easily accessible place to participate in the everyday activity of the neighborhood. They plan to host children’s story time in the space, with readings by residents.

“For the community, social life is critically important,” Tapner says. “Seniors want to feel like they’re part of a larger community, and many of our residents live here because they want to be part of vibrant New York City life.”

Here are some of the new communities we’ve been watching. All of them offer studio, one and two bedroom options, a myriad of amenities from dining to gyms to bars to programming as well as options for independent living and various stages of care. 

• Coterie (French for a group of friends getting together for a purpose). The luxury senior living brand by the Related Companies with buildings in New York City’s Hudson Yards and San Francisco’s Cathedral Hill. 

• Inspir. With locations in Carnegie Hill NYC and soon to open Embassy Row in Washington, DC, Inspir is focused on community, engagement and purpose. 

• The Elan Collection by Watermark. This new collection of higher-end residences now has developments in LA (across from UCLA), Tucson and Napa–as well as in the middle of Brooklyn Heights (see above). 

Community is crucial. Services for those who need them are critical. Intergenerational connections are critical. People who want to stay in cities should be able to access what is critical. We can figure this out. We’re glad people are starting to do it.  

We (and your fellow Lustre members) would love to hear your reactions, experiences, feedback. We are undoubtedly their target audience, so let’s tell them and each other what we think.