Gary and Sandy Hawkins shied away from traditional developments when they started looking for a new home.
"We specifically wanted a 55-and-older community," Gary Hawkins said. "We liked the idea of having things taken care of," like time-consuming yardwork.
The Hawkinses, who moved this spring into a ranch-style home in Leacock Township's Watson Run, are among a growing number of baby boomers and others choosing the low-maintenance lifestyle that 55-and-older subdivisions offer.
Being able to live on one floor also is a draw, whether it's in ranchers or residences with first-floor master suites.
There are at least six such communities in Lancaster County, with others on the drawing board. One of the proposed projects also includes assisted living.
And as more baby boomers turn 55, the market will only increase. Known as active-adult communities, 55-and-older developments are attractive, too, because they usually offer recreational options such as walking trails, clubhouses with fitness centers and swimming pools. Plus, many residents like being around people the same age who share similar interests and experiences.
On the cutting edgeBrookshire, which started in 2004, was one of the first 55-and-older subdivisions in Lancaster County. Titus Martin, who's developing the Penn Township community with Nelson Wenger, said the 234-home neighborhood should be finished sometime next year.
Among the other active-adult communities here are Watson Run, Four Seasons at Elm Tree in Rapho Township, Heritage Strasburg in Strasburg Borough, Village Grande at Millers Run in East Hempfield Township and Clearview Gardens North in Clay Township.
Brookshire isn't Martin's first such project. That distinction belongs to Arbor Gate in Lebanon County. And it probably won't his last, Martin said.
He said he's not surprised the number of 55-and-older communities in Lancaster County has grown since Brookshire debuted.
"Demand is there, no question about it," Martin said.
K. Hovnanian Homes, based in Red Bank, N.J., is building Four Seasons at Elm Tree, which will have 245 residences.
The sixth-largest home builder in the country, K. Hovnanian has hundreds of active-adult neighborhoods — under the Four Seasons name — in 17 states, said Jim Flanagan, area vice president for Pennsylvania, a region covering Harrisburg to the New Jersey border, and Wilmington, Del.
"A large portion of our portfolio" is 55-and-older developments, he said. "We were one of the early national builders to enter that market."
Four Seasons communities with 300 or fewer homes typically feature such amenities as a clubhouse, tennis courts, a swimming pool and a putting green, Flanagan said. Larger ones may even include golf courses and botanical gardens, he said.
Gary Mead said he and his wife, who are both retired, love the recreational opportunities at Watson Run, including the pool and clubhouse.
The biggest selling point in such communities is lifestyle, Flanagan said. "It's not so much the house, it's having neighbors who become friends."
Flanagan said he's surprised more 55-and-older developments didn't sprout up in Lancaster County sooner because "it's such a great location," with beautiful scenery and access to large metro areas.
More boomers hitting 55The federal Fair Housing Act includes an exemption allowing 55-and-older communities. The Housing for Older Persons Act of 1995 made some changes to the exemption, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development Web site.
For example, it eliminates the requirement that 55-and-older housing have "significant facilities and services" designed for the elderly.
HOPA also retains the requirement that such housing must have one person 55 or older living in at least 80 percent of its occupied units.
According to the census, the population of U.S. residents turning 55 is projected to reach a peak of nearly 4.56 million in 2015.
A "Profile of the 50+ Housing Market" put out by the 50+ Building Council of the National Association of Home Builders predicts "demand for age-qualified housing ... has been growing, and is expected to continue to grow."
The report says the number of Americans at least age 55 is projected to increase from 67 million (making up 22.6 percent of the country's population) in 2005 to 85.6 million (26.3 percent of the population) in 2014.
And the number of households headed by someone 55 and older is expected to climb 27.1 percent during that nine-year period. (For more on the NAHB report, see related story).
Active-adult communities attract a wide range of buyers, said Rob Bowman, president of Charter Homes & Neighborhoods, which is building Heritage Strasburg.
"People at 55 will consider that and even people up to their 80s. ... The demographics are very, very broad," he said.
In addition to the low-maintenance lifestyle, location is important, too, Bowman said. Because it's within the borough limits, Heritage Strasburg is "easily accessible to all the things [residents] would do on a daily basis," he said.
"We're really connecting a 55-and-over neighborhood to an existing town," Bowman said. "Our 'clubhouse' is literally the village of Strasburg."
While Heritage Strasburg is Charter's first 55-plus community, there are others being planned, Bowman said.
Watson Run started in late 2006. The 178-home community is being built by Berks Homes, Mohnton.
In a later phase, Watson Run will have a park with horseshoe pit and bocce courts, in addition to the swimming pool and the clubhouse with fitness center, said Bryan Entrekin, new home sales representative with the Watson Run Team at Berks Real Estate Services LLC. A walking trail also is under construction.
Entrekin said residents of the active-adult neighborhood enjoy being with "folks in a similar [age] demographic who have similar interests and hobbies."
Tom and Sue Shaub were among the first people to move into Brookshire, buying a two-story house there with a first-floor master.
"We like having people more our age with whom we have more in common," Sue Shaub said. Many are retired with grandchildren, she said.
Aging in placeBrookshire's Titus Martin said one of the appeals of 55-and-older developments is that people can age there — because of the trend toward in-home care — and not necessarily end up in a nursing home.
The 55-and-older community proposed by John Hogan takes that one step further. Funk's Farm Village in Manor Township intends to focus on "aging in place" by adding independent-living and assisted-living components, including care for people with dementia. All houses will be wheelchair-accessible as well, Hogan said.
Baby boomers "have different lifestyle expectations than previous generations, and different health care expectations, too," he said.
"The light goes on" when people realize they're getting older, and they start thinking, 'What do I want?' " Hogan said.
"They need to prepare" for their later years, he said, "or they won't be 'golden' years."
Paula Wolf is a staff writer for the Sunday News. She can be reached by e-mail at pwolf@lnpnews.com.
