Agenda - Council - 02/24/1998 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Ramsey Senior Housing Market Study January1998 Presbyterian Homes and located on the Presbyterian Homes' campus in Arden Hills, was constructed in 1980 and was the first congregate facility in the St. Paul area. The Minneapolis area already had several such facilities by 1980 including 7500 York Avenue in Edina (a cooperative completed in 1978), Friendship Village in Bloomington (a life care cooperative completed in 1979) and St. Therese in New Hope (rental apartments completed in 1979). Development of senior housing continued in the Twin Cities during the 1980's with greater product choice and geographical distribution. Senior condominiums and smaller projects with lower rents and fewer mandatory services broadened the market for senior housing. Today there are more than 9,000 units in over 90 market rate senior housing projects in the Twin Cities Metropolitan area. More than two-thirds of the units in the projects are rentals, rather than owner occupied. Condominiums have attracted a younger senior population who still see a value in ownership housing. Cooperatives usually have a limit on appreciation and are frequently misunderstood in the marketplace. Both condominiums and cooperatives have generally experienced difficulty maintaining resale value, and, as the original residents have aged in place, the building often becomes less appealing to younger, more active seniors. These trends, combined with less motivation on the part of senior's families to market units once the resident has moved to a nursing home or passed on, has resulted in declining unit values. Rental units are the most accepted because of the lack of a long-term commitment to the project. Some rental projects such as the Boulevard in Columbia Heights require endowments or entry fees which are used to offset the monthly rents. Usually developments requiring endowments have a strong service component and are geared to the frail elderly. These projects are often projects with a religious sponsor as developer or owner, such as Maranatha Place in Brooklyn Center. The use of endowments and entrance fees has caused resistance among potential tenants and is used less often today. In fact, St. Therese Southwest (in Hopkins) dropped entry fees altogether after expehencing very poor leasing and the Boulevard has instituted an option without endowment that requires higher monthly rents than the original entry-fee plan. The most recent trends in senior housing are the appearance of two housing types at opposite ends of the service-provision spectrum. One is housing geared to a very young, independent senior, some who may still be employed full-time. This is the housing concept most likely appropriate for Ramsey. These projects are often more competitive with general occupancy apartments than with senior developments geared to the frail elderly. The other type of housing which is appearing more frequently is assisted living projects. Because these are not true independent-living developments, they are not considered in this study. Many services are built into the rent, such as two or three meals per day, housekeeping and assistance with bathing or dressing. Most do not have full kitchens in the units. While these are very expensive projects, they are usually less expensive than nursing homes and provide a more residential atmosphere. Royce Place, in Columbia Heights is an example of this type of project. Some congregate senior projects, such as Walker Place in Anoka, have areas set aside for assisted living units. The overview section has been obtained from information provided by the Maxfield Research Group, Inc. Community Partners Research, Inc. 24