Despite market, senior housing still seen as viable

LAKES REGION (Dec 11, 2008): Despite a poor market for new houses, two housing projects for seniors are moving forward in the Lakes Region.

Bridgton resident Ingrid von Kannewurff planned to break ground on her 60-unit Bridgton Senior Courtyard project this week. Though she hoped to get started this summer, the planning board process took longer than she expected.

Standing on the land of the future Gardenside Estates, Owner/Developer Mark Floor, of Standish, talks about the 38-unit community for those 62 years old and older. (Photo by Harmony Motter)

Both condominium developments are designed for independent seniors who are interested in living in a community with other seniors and leaving behind all the maintenance responsibilities that go along with owning a house. The projects fill a gap for middle-income seniors who want to stay in the towns they call home, some organizers said.

In a time when some new construction projects are being put on hold, Floor said he is optimistic about selling his Gardenside Estates units. As he is starting to market the units, he is putting two other approved projects on hold, an eight-lot and a 12-lot residential project.

“The residential market is not very good,” Floor said. “There’s no sense putting hundreds of thousands of dollars of infrastructure in if you can’t sell it.”

But Floor believes Gardenside Estates provides something unavailable in Standish.

“This is the first development of its kind in Standish,” Floor said, adding that nine people have called him inquiring about the project. Seniors have told him that there is no place for them to age in Standish and they were having to move to neighboring communities.

“They want to stay in Standish,” Floor said.

Floor’s Gardenside Estates condos are available to those 62 and older. Each 832-square-foot unit will be on one level and include a garage. The project will be located across the street from the Colonial Marketplace on Route 25 and will include a clubhouse, community garden and area for walking.

The Bridgton Senior Courtyard condos will range from 800-1,700 square feet, and the development will include a greenhouse, restaurant and meeting spaces. Von Kannewurff plans 48 apartments in four buildings and 12 townhouse units. Each townhouse will cost $285,000. The prices for the apartments are still undetermined. The units will be located on 42 acres on South High Street in Bridgton.

Von Kannewurff, 74, said her goal was to design warm, bright apartments. She and her husband plan to move into one of the apartments when they are built. During the first phase, she plans to build one townhouse duplex, one side of which is already claimed by Fryeburg resident Friderika Gilroy, 88, and her husband.

Von Kannewurff said she was inspired to start working on the project after volunteering at the Bridgton Community Center and hearing the complaints of seniors.

“It is the middle income that doesn’t have housing,” said Von Kannewurff, who moved to Bridgton with her husband 11 years ago.

Others have joined Von Kannewurff in the last year and a half to help plan the project. Some of the women are interested in moving into the condos when they are built, and others are there to help Von Kannewurff because the project interests them.

On a recent Friday, a group of five met in the house Von Kannewurff bought with the property where the senior courtyard will be built for a combination of socializing and planning. They sat in a circle in chairs with small plaques bearing the names of the organizers, which Von Kannewurff bought as a surprise for the others. Outside the sun shone brightly on a snow-spotted field with pink flagging showing where the first duplex would be built.

T. Jewell Collins and Joyce Nowell, both over 70 years old, have been friends since they were children, and were excited about the idea of living in the same community.

“It’s just getting to be too much,” said Nowell of her house, which she is trying to sell.

Faye Daley, 70, Bridgton’s public health officer, said many elderly in town struggle to stay in their homes and depend on support from others to keep up with maintenance. Eventually, they have to move to an assisted living facility, Daley said, and that’s expensive.

“There’s a need up here,” said Sue Premo, 56, of Naples, adding that she knows a lot of older people who have a hard time in the winter but want to live independently close to family and friends.

Von Kannewurff said the long-term goal is to make the development energy independent. The homes will be well-insulated, and the heating, cooling and air exchange system will be powered by geothermal energy.

“With Ingrid’s undiminishing enthusiasm, it has finally got a life of its own,” Collins said.

Eileen Whynot of the Southern Maine Agency on Aging said there is definitely a need for senior housing in Southern Maine. Seniors often struggle to maintain their houses as they get older and senior housing can allow them to stay independent and avoid entering a nursing home.

Floor agreed that there is a need and demand for senior housing. A Standish resident since 1995, Floor has been developing properties for 12 years, mostly in Standish, Buxton, Hollis and Limington.

Gardenside Estates was made possible because of a zoning change enacted 2.5 years ago, Floor said. Instead of requiring 60,000 square feet of land per unit, residences in the village center area now require 10,000 square feet per unit. A panel that formed to look at the zoning regulations had the goal of populating Standish Village and making it more pedestrian-oriented, Floor said.

Floor was drawn to the location because of its proximity to a variety of services, including shopping, banks and a veterinary clinic.

This proximity to services and dense development falls into goals set in the town’s comprehensive plan, according to Christian McNeil, communications director for Growsmart Maine.

The organization chose Standish for its model town project and is working with the town to implement the comprehensive plan. McNeil said Floor’s project is an example of the kind of development that is good for Standish.

“That really sort of exemplifies the kind of housing that these small towns really need,” McNeil said. “That’s the kind of project that we’d like to see more of.”

McNeil said clustered elderly housing, such as Floor’s project, also may be the kind of project the market will support, given that Maine has one of the oldest demographics in the country.

Those interested in finding more information about Gardenside Estates can contact Mark Floor, owner/developer, at 415-6415. For more information about the Bridgton Senior Courtyard, contact Ingrid von Kannewurff at 647-5389.

“We are making a big investment here,” Von Kannewurff said. “The timing is lousy, but we are confident that it will go.”

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