Portland always seems so ahead of the curve when it comes to hip fashion, hoppy beer, food carts and now housing for those eternally young graying baby boomers. Portland is in the top 5o regions where 40 plus boomers want to retire. Currently there are over 190,000 people aged 65 and older living in the Portland metro area and by 2030, that number is expected to grow to almost 395,000.
Alan DeLaTorre was the moderator for the City Club panel to discuss “How Age-Friendly are Portland’s Housing Options”. He is a research associate at Portland State University Institute on aging and a newly minted Ph.D with a focus on housing for older adults. There is a growing international movement and PDX crafted a Action Plan in the Fall of 2013 with Alan’s guidance.
Villages NW works to enable people to age in place in their existing homes as well as they can for as long as they can for as little as they can. Four Villages are up and running in NW Portland and six villages are in development in the greater Portland area. 89% homeowners want to grow old in their home. There are 130 Villages nationwide that are successful. There is no real estate involved, but a community of volunteers and “vetted vendors” that support people who want to live & age gracefully in their home.
Bridge Meadows is an innovative community designed to bring together three generations to provide a stable, loving home for foster children, support for adoption and an opportunity for elders to have a sense of community and purpose. This project is up and running in North Portland. Windermere Cronin & Caplan Realty was a part of this ground breaking building and committed $250,000 over 4 years. I have worked for 12 years at Windermere and am proud to of been apart of this development.
PDX Commons is a new project focusing on creating an environment for aging in place based on the co-housing model. The project is under development and will be located in the Vancouver corridor. There are 25 units and the location in walking distance of urban shopping and parks.
For Cohousing resources in the US go here and Cohousing resources in the world go here It is an International Movement!
This trend is going to continue, since there are not enough retirement facilities in existence or being built to accommodate 395,000 projected seniors. Not to mention that a huge percentage of this population- current estimates suggest up to 75%- don’t have enough retirement savings to be able to afford he $3000 plus per month it would cost. Being ahead of the curve in design and housing options is a must.
Where do you want to live or retire to?