More retirees consider living near campuses
By Carisa Chappell, Published September 15, 2007

An increasing number of retirees taking advantage of postsecondary educational and cultural opportunities are packing up their bags to live closer to campuses.

In fact, campus life is playing such an increasing role in the lives of baby boomers that new developments are sprouting up across the country, tying the 55-plus generation directly to the campus environment.

Campus Continuum, which with developers and col­leges creates residences for lifelong learners, said campuses are attractive to seniors and it has zeroed in on the trend. It is developing 55-plus communities that are closely tied to the academic institution near which they are located.

The two-year-old Campus Continuum is working on a project at Juniata College in Pennsylvania and is in talks with a number of other colleges, including the University of Massachusetts and the University of Wisconsin, said Gerard Badler, the company’s managing director.

Experts such as Badler note warm weather isn’t as important to baby boomers when they are mulling where to reside in retirement. Rather, it’s the lifestyle offered in an area, which for today’s seniors more often includes an active-learning environment.

While there are currently about 30 or 40 closely integrated campus-based communities across the country, Badler sees this becoming a trend. Although the move to college towns has focused on four-year colleges, Badler said he expects the same to happen at two-year college campuses.

“In some ways it makes as much sense if not more sense to tie into community colleges, since tradition­ally they already have significant experience in dealing with older adults,” continued Badler.

As with four-year colleges, retirees will seek two-year college campuses in a geographic area that is attractive and has cultural opportunities, such as a theater, museum, exhibit hall, library and fitness facility, Badler said. Small­er community colleges that don’t have those accoutre­ments could partner with nearby four-year universities eager to tap into the retiree market.

In addition to having access to campus amenities, se­niors who live in college-linked retirement communities can often enjoy free or reduced classes, along with priority access to sports and cultural events, Badler said. In the project Campus Continuum is working on, there will be a dean of programs to coordinate relations between resi­dents and the college. The dean will serve as liaison to col­laborate in developing educational programs, seminars, social, travel, recreational and volunteer opportunities.

“Because they have discovered this bonus period in their lives, boomers can live anywhere they want and are often choosing places close to colleges or univer­sities,” said Alan Koch, coordinator of the Lifelong Learning Institute, which was launched in 2004 at Chemeketa Community College (Oregon).

One of the surveys by Campus Continuum to gauge the level of interest in campus-affiliated residences for baby boomers revealed that more than half of the 233 respon­dents age 55-75 liked the idea of college-campus living.

The survey showed that 58 percent would like to live on or near a small college-town campus, 62 percent would be “very interested” in taking courses together with traditional students and 64 percent would con­sider volunteering on campus. Survey results in various geographic regions are helping to determine sites for the firms’ campus communities, Balder said.

Longview is an older adult community that offers in­dependents apartment and assisted living suites in Ithaca and it has close ties with Ithaca College. Ellie Hall Min­nis, director of development and community relations at Longview, said that the college programs are attractive to their residents, many of whom take classes on campus.

Next year, a retirement community affiliated with Stephen F. Austin State University (Texas) will open near the campus for seniors looking to immerse them­selves in college life. Residents will have their own student ID cards and a program coordinator.

While there are currently no official campus-ori­ented living arrangements for seniors at community colleges, there are programs that offer day-long ex­periences for this older adult population.

“Things that we have seen are that people over the age of 50 often want to immerse themselves in a subject and spend time with an expert,” said Koch. “Where they may have briefly spent time with a subject before, the community college offers in-depth, intensive one-day programs.”

He added that some of the most popular day-long experiences include writing classes, spiritual living, gardening and studying foods. One of his institute’s summer workshops discussed the aroma and flavor of wines and included a vineyard tour and dinner.

“We’ve also done some things with green building, and a lot of people have talked to me about legacy building as they are looking for ways to give back and leave their own personal footprints,” Koch said.