USA: Over-55 Plan Has Seniors Rejoicing

FRAMINGHAM (Boston Herald/Daily News), June 26, 2005: After more than 40 years in the same house where she and her husband raised their four children, Muriel Turner is ready to downsize. The 78-year-old's husband died about seven years ago and her children moved out long before that. Now Turner is left with a Cape that she says is too big for her to take care of alone. Just a few weeks ago, she had her kitchen painted, but now she needs help nailing pictures back into the wall. "I always had someone to help, but now it's do it yourself or don't do it," she said about household chores. Turner is the kind of person Framingham's new over-55 bylaw is intended to help. Passed by Town Meeting last week, the new regulations clear the way for developers to build housing specifically for people 55 and older. The housing, which is popping up around MetroWest, is in growing demand, say town officials and developers, and allows people to move into smaller, condo-like homes while staying in their community. Turner says she has been thinking about moving into just such a development and hopes the new bylaw will soon trigger building in Framingham. "I think there'd be a lot of senior citizens interested in it, I really do, like myself. Perhaps the house is too large for them, they're a widow or widower, and they want to be in smaller quarters," she said. As the population is aging, there is greater demand for this stuff, and it's like that in every community. By David McLaughlin