USA: Housing Reserved Only For Those Over 55

Age-Restricted Housing Increasing in Howard County, says a report in WASHINGTON POST WASHINGTON, DC (Washington Post), September 11, 2006: Since Columbia was built nearly four decades ago, Howard County attracted mostly families with young children looking to escape the high housing prices and headaches of modern city life. But when county officials consider who they most want now, it's empty-nesters, a growing portion of the population and one that holds advantages for communities that can lure them. They're over 55, yet perhaps decades from a nursing home. They pay plenty in taxes. And they don't use one of the most expensive local services: schools. To that end, Howard County has rewritten its development rules. County rules now mandate that at least 250 of the 1,850 residences that can be built in the county each year be set aside for people age 55 and older. In a county where the wait for building permits can run five years, developers of age-restricted communities can jump to the head of the line, and apply for permission to build more units per acre than are otherwise allowed. The incentives appear to be working. There are 16 age-restricted communities in Howard County, half of them built in the past two years, according to the county's Office of Aging. Twenty-two more are in the works. The aging of the baby-boom generation is a focus of economic discussion nationwide, as businesses and governments try to anticipate the retirement of a group of people that redefined life and work at every stage of life. Born from 1946 to 1964, the boomers are generally healthier and wealthier than their parents and grandparents. And there are a lot of them: nearly 80 million nationwide. In Howard County, the 55- to 59-year-old age bracket grew faster than the county's total population, increasing about 156 percent from 1990 to 2005, according to the most recent U.S. Census Bureau data. Developers have recognized the opportunity. Edited version of report By Dina ElBoghdady Washington Post Staff Writer © Copyright 1996-2006 The Washington Post Company