Urban-Retirement On The Horizon

Valley urban-retirement communities on the rise
Avenir Group is planning 3 projects in city centers

The latest breed of retirement community departs from the master-planned, golf-course and recreation-center variety made popular across Arizona and California by the entrepreneur Del Webb.

Seeking to lure a surge of affluent baby boomers accustomed to the hustle and bustle of city life, urban-retirement high-rises began sprouting near cultural and retail cores in metro areas like Chicago and Seattle. The units, which often mirror luxury hotels, typically cost around $3,000 a month and include meal plans, shuttle buses and cleaning services.

A company out of Canada is bringing a variation of the concept to the Valley and is hoping to sell retirees on the ultra-hip lifestyle. advertisement

So far, projects are planned in Scottsdale, Surprise and Chandler.

British Columbia-based Avenir Group, which has built five urban-retirement projects in metro Vancouver, is building the Arté at Frank Lloyd Wright Boulevard and Via Linda in Scottsdale; the Diamond at Parkview Place and Paradise Lane in Surprise; and potentially the Palms at Pecos Road and Pennington Drive in Chandler, a project that is still pending city-staff review.

At about four stories high, Avenir's Valley projects are not the same sleek high-rise towers that their market competitors, such as Medford, Ore.-based Pacific Retirement Services, offer. That company built a 12-story retirement high-rise called Mirabella in downtown Seattle and will soon break ground on a 30-story project in Portland.

However, Avenir's suburban-urban hybrids do promise a similar lifestyle because they place retirees in the center, rather than outside of, their city's biggest attractions, said Jason Gurash, an operations manager for Avenir Group.

In Surprise for example, the Diamond will rise in the city's future downtown, walking distance from its spring-training stadium and a soon-to-be 17-acre strip of main-street-style shops, restaurants and entertainment venues.

In Chandler, the Palms would be a three-mile shuttle ride to the city's popular art walk and downtown boutiques and restaurants.

But Avenir's more traditional competitors wonder if retirees would open their wallets for a semi-metropolitan unit when they could potentially buy a larger home in some of the resort-style communities slightly farther out.

Competition

Del Webb, the company behind about 100 country-club-style retirement communities nationwide, went "urban" in Arizona when it built Fireside at Desert Ridge next to the Desert Ridge Marketplace open-air mall in Phoenix. However that community, unlike Avenir's developments, went on sale to all ages, not just retirees.

"We do a lot of surveying of what (baby boomers) are looking for, it is actually more desirable to be . . . on the outside of town rather than the inside of town," said Jacque Petroulakis, a spokeswoman for Pulte Homes and Del Webb communities. "People come to Arizona, they select Arizona for the outdoor activities. Those are not amenities that are easily combined into one community in a high-rise environment . . . People that come here want to get outside of the hustle and bustle of the core, and it could be because they've been there, done that," she said.

Petroulakis added that she believes retirees' money can also stretch farther on the fringes. In Del Webb's Sun City Festival in Buckeye, homes start in the mid-$100,000s.

At Avenir's future Diamond in Surprise, which is about a 15-minute drive from Sun City Festival, rents would range from $2,500 to $3,000. Suites are also planned for residents that might need extra space for a personal assistant.

Personal style

When it comes to choosing between a rural or urban-retirement option, Gurash said a decision depends on a retiree's personal style. But for those on the fence, he said convenience might push someone who is undecided over the edge.

"We try to create five-star hotels and we believe that location is key," he said.

Retiree Sue Archibald lives in an urban Avenir community in White Rock, Canada. The suburb of Vancouver is also a seaside vacation destination with unique boardwalk-style shops and restaurants, Archibald said.

If you ask Petroulakis, retirees such as Archibald prove that housing options for those just entering retirement will only increase.

Erin Zlomek
The Arizona Republic
Mar. 21, 2008 12:00 AM