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At CrossRidge in Glen Allen, the lifestyle centers around the Pavilion Clubhouse. (Photo courtesy Rick Perkins)
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Exercise facilities at CrossRidge (Photo by Jennifer Pryor)
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The indoor pool at CrossRidge (Photo courtesy Dianne Stanley)
Elizabeth Collins came to Richmond to be closer to her daughter’s family. By moving to an age-restricted community, she got that wish and a whole lot more.
“It’s very, very nice here,” Collins says of CrossRidge, the “55 and better” neighborhood in Glen Allen where she moved in 2009. “It’s a very active community. You do what you want to do when you want to do it.”
Collins had hoped to purchase a free-standing home, but none were available at the time, so she opted for a connected house with a generous yard, which she takes advantage of as an active gardener. Collins also enjoys the maintenance provided by the HOA, which includes plantings, mowing, leaf and snow removal, and roof repairs.
She takes water aerobics classes twice a week in the clubhouse’s indoor pool, participates in weekly mahjong games and attends other gatherings and functions as she wishes. A CrossRidge staff member coordinates events, and residents also organize activities, Collins says.
“I think you meet more people when you’re in a community like this,” she says. “Your options of keeping busy are greater, which is good for your physical and mental health.”
She’s right about the health benefits, says Jennifer Pryor, program director for Virginia Commonwealth University’s Department of Gerontology and co-director for Assisted Living Administration at VCU’s College of Health Professions.
“Research does tell us it’s important for us to be engaged in a variety of ways through our lives,” Pryor says. “Some [pursuits] are social in nature; they connect us to people in ways that help us learn about each other and make meaningful relations. Some are more physical; they get us up and moving around. Learning a new skill helps us make new connections and strengthen existing connections in our brains. Spiritual activities connect to our core values.”
Pryor adds that it’s good for people to remain active in ways that make sense to them throughout life. “When I think about this idea of engaging or being involved, it means different things to different people,” she says. “It doesn’t matter what setting we’re in — whether it’s senior living or in our own home, just starting out in adulthood or getting ready to retire — being able to make positive and meaningful connections with others and the world around us is what helps us get that sense of feeling of wholeness and well-being.”
Communities that are exclusive to or cater to older adults know that providing myriad activities for residents is essential. “Activity programming is intentional in creating a sense of belonging and helping people connect with others,” Pryor says. “It’s beneficial for people moving from homes where they were isolated.”
People are looking for [a certain] lifestyle and a community of friends with shared amenities.
—Mitchell Bode, president of Boone Homes
Neighborhoods tailored to those 55 and older — whether they have age-restricted covenants or not — typically offer groundskeeping services and features that can include maintained walking trails, clubhouses with fitness centers and event spaces, pools, tennis and pickleball courts, and dog parks. Some also offer amenities such as beekeeping, gardening and ponds for fishing, kayaking or paddleboarding.
“We’ve really seen the options for folks in this chapter of their lives explode,” says Kristin Krupp, managing partner of The Beran Group and president of the Richmond Association of Realtors. “This is a very large buying population, and we didn’t have a ton of options” when she entered the real estate business nearly 20 years ago.
“[Age-targeted neighborhoods] create an environment for people to have a connection and meet other people,” Krupp says. “They’re in a whole new chapter in their lives; they want to have something in common with their neighbors.”
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Future residents at the groundbreaking for a new section of the Mosaic at West Creek 55-plus community. (Photo courtesy Boone Homes)
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A rendering of homes offered in the Villas at Swift Creek, a new 55-plus community in Chesterfield (Image courtesy Kristin Krupp)
Mitchell Bode, president of Boone Homes in Goochland County, agrees. “People are looking for [a certain] lifestyle and a community of friends with shared amenities,” he says. “They want that community aspect. They’re looking to have these interactions and to build those relationships. They want to be able to lean on people in their community and still lead a happy life.”
Boone Homes expects to begin developing The Villas at Swift Creek in Chesterfield later this year. The neighborhood will be age-restricted, which means at least 80% of owners must be 55 or older. “There’s definitely demand, and resales [in 55-plus neighborhoods] go pretty well,” Bode says.
Realtor Krupp notes that there is a difference between neighborhoods that have age restrictions and those that simply target 55-plus and also have residents at every stage. The Hallsley neighborhood in Midlothian, which Krupp had a hand in developing, isn’t age restricted but has a section of homes called Saville Park that are marketed toward older residents. “We had consumers who wanted maintenance provided and an area that was quiet but still wanted to be around younger families,” she says.
Krupp says buyers can search the Multiple Listing Service for neighborhoods with maintenance provided and age restrictions. A careful search can pull up some — but perhaps not all — 55-plus communities.
Of course, Krupp adds, not every senior wants to identify with a 55-plus community.
“Some of our buying population doesn’t want to be labeled” by their age, Krupp says. “It’s a mindset, a positioning on how they approach life.”
Maintaining an adventurous mindset is useful, VCU’s Pryor says.
“There’s an ageist stereotype that we’re too old for something [new],” she says. “You can adapt pretty much any activity, physical or cognitive. Sometimes people forget that an activity can look very different depending on who’s doing that activity.”
Collins recalls that when she moved to CrossRidge, a member of the welcoming committee encouraged her to try different activities and even accompanied Collins so she wouldn’t have to go by herself. That helped, she says, and it gave her the chance to make her own decisions.
“She nudged me out a little bit,” Collins says. “Some of it I continued with, some I didn’t. It becomes your choice of what you want to do. You could sit in your house and never go out, but there’s a lot you can participate in if you want to.”
