USA: Consider the age-old question: Where to live?

HOUSING Empty-nesters are divided on whether to settle in communities that are targeted at seniors. Jane Adler | Special to the Sentinel ORLANDO, Florida (Orlando Sentinel), June 15, 2008: Opinions vary widely on whether it's best to live in a development limited to older people. John Breen and his wife, Mary, say it's not. Five years ago, they moved to a duplex at Fox Meadow, a community in north suburban Northfield, Ill., that is not age-restricted but has residents who are mostly empty-nesters. The couple wanted a place that required less maintenance than their single-family home of many years, but they weren't looking for a place for those 55 or older either. "I wasn't thinking about a geriatric-type place," says Breen, 66. "We did not even look at something that was age-restricted." Then there's Diana Lutzow. She moved in 2001 to Del Webb's Sun City retirement development in northwest suburban Huntley, Ill. "The age restriction appealed to me," said Lutzow, a mother of six. "It was my time." Lutzow joined the many clubs there and participates in the activities. Because there were so many people her age, she made lots of new friends, including Bob Lutzow in 2005, and they married. "We are so lucky," she said. "We have so many friends. It keeps you young." Debate aside, the number of age-restricted communities continues to grow. There are about 1,300 such properties nationwide, said Margaret Wylde, researcher at the ProMatura Group, Oxford, Miss. Many have been built in the past 10 years. At the same time, the number of "age-targeted" communities also has grown. These projects typically have duplexes and town homes and offer landscaping services. But buyers don't have to be 55 or older. Wylde estimates there are about three age-targeted communities for every age-restricted project. Age-targeted projects tend to attract slightly younger buyers, developers say. "I think empty-nesters want to be around younger people," said Ann Danner, president at Residential Homes of America. The Lake Forest-based developer has an age-restricted community, Victoria Park, in Libertyville, Ill. But it also builds age-targeted condos and town homes. She says the age restriction narrows the pool of potential buyers when it comes time to sell. Still, a recent survey shows the number of older adults who would consider an age-restricted community has grown, said Wylde. "The lifestyle can be very attractive, especially if you are a people person." Jeanne and Larry Rothlisberger recently bought at Carillon at Cambridge Lakes in Pingree Grove, Ill. When they started looking for a new place with fewer chores than their one-acre homestead, they didn't think about the age restriction at Carillon. But now, "we're glad we bought there because we'll have neighbors the same age and we'll have more in common with them," Jeanne Rothlisberger said. "We think it's an advantage." Developers remain conscious of attitudes on age, providing activities for grandkids at age-restricted projects, for example. Developers are also mixing age-restricted neighborhoods in master-planned developments. That way, older people don't feel so isolated. For example, Carillon is part of a 3,000-home project at Cambridge Lakes. "I don't know that the age restriction matters," said Marjorie Nelson, 80, who plans to sell her home of 50 years and move to Park Place of Elmhurst, a continuing-care community slated to open in 2010. Bob Satterfield lives with his wife, Joye, at Sedgebrook, a continuing-care community in Lincolnshire, Ill. Satterfield , 79, didn't give the age restriction a thought. "This [place] met our needs," he said. He likes the doctor on staff and the health program that emphasizes disease prevention. The couple has a 2,000-square-foot apartment with two bedrooms and a den. They come and go as they please, Satterfield said, and they participate in a lot of the building's activities. They also have more friends now than they had in the 25 years they lived in a single-family home in the suburbs. "It's not a nursing home," he said. "It's a home." ________________________________________________________ This story first was published in the Chicago Tribune, a Tribune Publishing newspaper. Copyright © 2008, Orlando Sentinel