20 Oct A Place to Stay Connected: The Changing Need for Attainable Senior Housing
For older adults, the decision to move can involve years of relationships, trusted healthcare providers, and everyday routines that make a place feel like home.
Housing affordability plays a significant role in that decision. Having attainable housing options gives people the opportunity to stay near the people and places they know as their needs change.
When Attainability Limits Choice
Retirement can mean living on a more fixed income while housing, utilities, insurance, healthcare, and other expenses continue to change. A home that once fits someone’s budget may become harder to maintain, while alternatives nearby may be financially out of reach.
Southernside West in Greenville, South Carolina, is being developed to expand those alternatives. Located near Unity Park, the four-story community is planned to provide 54 affordable apartments for residents age 55 and older, serving households earning between 30% and 80% of Area Median Income. A portion of the apartments are reserved for individuals with disabilities.
Harmony Housing Affordable Development and the Greenville Housing Fund are partnering on the project. Planned amenities include a resident gathering space and fitness center, providing places for residents to spend time together close to home.
Thomas & Hutton (T&H) is providing surveying and civil engineering services. The team’s work includes site due diligence, boundary and title surveys, and parcel coordination to support planning, permitting, and financing requirements.
Expanding Options Within Established Neighborhoods
Other communities are approaching senior housing through new development and redevelopment.
On West Trinity Lane in North Nashville, Northview Senior Living is planned to include approximately 254 one- and two-bedroom apartments. The attainable senior housing development brings together Born Again Church, Urban Campus and Core, and The Clear Blue Company.
T&H is providing civil engineering services, including right-of-way dedication exhibits, agency coordination, and construction-phase support. The project adds a senior housing option within an established urban corridor.
In Jacksonville, Florida, the proposed Franklin Arms redevelopment would replace an existing 98-unit community with a 130-unit community for residents age 55 and older earning between 30% and 70% of Area Median Income. The plans pair an increase in available apartments with the replacement of aging housing.
These projects illustrate different ways communities can expand choice: adding homes on available land and reconsidering how existing housing sites serve residents.
Housing Needs can Change
Attainable apartments address one part of the senior housing landscape. Assisted living and memory care serve different needs, and their costs and services require separate consideration.
Benton House of Bluffton illustrates that broader range of housing. The 73-bed, approximately 48,000-square-foot assisted living and memory care facility includes enclosed courtyards with outdoor space and gardening opportunities.
T&H provided surveying, civil engineering, landscape architecture, permitting, and construction observation services. During bidding, the team also provided value engineering to help reduce construction costs. Capacity fee credits and a drainage connection to an adjacent property offered additional project savings.
Keeping the Community Within Reach
Planning for senior housing starts with recognizing that older adults have different budgets, preferences, and support needs. Communities need housing options that account for those differences.
For someone considering their next move, the question may be straightforward: Can I find a home that meets my needs in the community I want to keep calling home?
Expanding attainable senior housing gives more people the opportunity to make that choice.
Planning a Residential Development?
From attainable housing to senior living communities, Thomas & Hutton works with developers and project teams to support residential projects through planning, design, and construction. Connect with our team to discuss your next project.
