Kallimos Communities, a development concept created by Bill Thomas, a leader in progressive senior housing, features multigenerational neighborhoods of 50 to 60 smaller homes, with common spaces and programming staff who will plan group meals and social events. Developments are in the works in Victoria, Texas, and Loveland, Colo., where Kallimos is teaming up with a local housing authority and plans to break ground in 2024.
The initial response has included significant interest from older couples “seeking to be part of a community,” said Megan Marama, the chief operating officer of Kallimos.
In Britain, a model called RightSizer is being used to renovate and refurbish empty Main Street businesses decimated by online shopping and transform them into a mix of senior housing sites and community-focused health and education centers. The plan will reinvigorate local culture and business, said Rory O’Hagan, a director at Assael Architecture, which devised the idea. He added that he was working with developers to get approval this fall for the first site in South London.
Many developers of urban senior living rentals have tapped into the value of intergenerational living, integrating senior apartments with younger renters to stave off loneliness and share costs.
Bridge Meadows has successfully developed four such facilities in Oregon where seniors, foster children and their foster parents live in the same building. Part of impetus for the project was seeing elders who felt that “they were being put out to pasture” and wanted to feel vital to a community, said Derenda Schubert, the executive director of Bridge Meadows. Her design team is looking at ways to build on a larger scale.
Some developers, like McNair Living and Tabitha, have focused on building senior living facilities near college campuses. Next fall, Tabitha will open a 128-apartment intergenerational facility in Nebraska with the Bryan College of Health Sciences, offering 25 college students a chance to live closer to campus and supplement their classroom learning with real-life experience interacting with and living alongside elders.
“The moderate income price point for senior living is poorly served,” said Joyce Ebmeier, Tabitha’s chief of staff. “When you’re competing with high-end product, with lots of grand entrances and grand pianos and plush amenities, you need to think about creating a product that will serve people.”